"The Figure 5 in Gold" by Charles Demuth. William Carlos Williams' poem inspired the 1928 painting.
Williams Carlos Williams, 1883-1963, was a physician and influential American poet whose epic "Paterson'' is considered a personification of and tribute to the city.
Williams - who practiced at the Passaic General Hospital - penned many other poems, including these lines about an encounter with a fire engine.
Williams - who practiced at the Passaic General Hospital - penned many other poems, including these lines about an encounter with a fire engine.
The Great Figure
Among the rain
and lights
I saw the figure 5
in gold
in gold
on a red
fire truck
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city
moving
tense
unheeded
to gong clangs
siren howls
and wheels rumbling
through the dark city