The murderer's little daughter 
who is barely ten years old 
jerks her shoulders 
right and left 
so as to catch a glimpse of me 
without turning round. 
Her skinny little arms 
wrap themselves 
this way then that 
reversely about her body!
Nervously 
she crushes her straw hat 
about her eyes 
and tilts her head 
to deepen the shadow— 
smiling excitedly! 

As best as she can 
she hides herself 
in the full sunlight 
her cordy legs writhing 
beneath the little flowered dress 
that leaves them bare 
from mid-thigh to ankle— 

Why has she chosen me 
for the knife 
that darts along her smile?

Poet: William Carlos Williams
Poem: Sympathetic Portrait Of A Child

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