Lady in the leopard skin
Has a fear of plunging in
Traffic like a muddy river,
Starting gives a little shiver.
Gears and peers and fears again
That her horn is not too plain;
Edges to curb, pauses to think
How to move upon the brink.
Go ahead, implores the tender,
Heavy-handed on the fender,
In her ears the engine sings
Yellow-eyed, the lady springs.
From Collected Poems, 1930–83. Copyright © 1983 by Josephine Miles. Used with permission of the University of Illinois Press.