She was a woman with a

broom or a dustpan or a washrag

or a mixing spoon in her hand. You

saw her cutting piecrust in the

morning, humming to it, or you

saw her setting out the baked pies

at noon or taking them in, cool, at

dusk. She rang p,.0_L~e!air~,cups like a

Swiss bell ringer, to their place. She

glided through the halls as ~'ll-y')

as a vacuum machine, seeking,

finding, and setting to rights. She

made mirrors of everY window, to

catch the sun. She 4trolled but

twice through any garden, (~rowe! in

ha.~ and the flowers raised-~eir

Ct_U_!vering fires upon the warm air

in iaer (va~.~ She slept quietly and

turned no more than three times in

a night, as relaxed as a white glove

to which, at dawn, a ~'~ hand ~(

will return. Waking, she"touched t;

people like pictures, to set their !t

frames straight.