Upton Sinclair, ed. (1878–1968). rn The Cry for Justice: An Anthology of the Literature of Social Protest. 1915.
Fifth Avenue, 1915Hermann Hagedorn
(American poet, born 1882. The following poem is a rondel, an interesting case of the use of an artificial old French verse-form in a vital way)T
The painted ladies sit and smile.
Along the sidewalks, mile on mile,
Parade the dandies of the town.
The tedium of their souls beguile.
The motor cars go up and down,
The painted ladies sit and smile.
A thousand for a rock-bound isle.
Ten thousand in a black defile
Perish for justice or a crown.
The motor cars go up and down.…