| Harriet Monroe, ed. (18601936). The New Poetry: An Anthology. 1917. |
| |
| 27. The Old Jew |
| | | By Maxwell Bodenheim |
| |
| |
| NO fawn-tinged hospital pajamas could cheat him of his austerity, | |
| Which tamed even the doctors with its pure fire. | |
| They examined him; made him bow to them: | |
| Massive altars were they, at whose swollen feet grovelled a worshiper. | |
| Then they laughed, half in scorn of him; and there came a miracle. | 5 |
| The little man was above them at a bound. | |
| His austerity, like an irresistible sledge-hammer, drove them lower and lower: | |
| They dwindled while he soared. | |
| |
|
|
|