Then Cautiously she Pushed the Cellar Door

Then cautiously she pushed the cellar door

And stepped into the kitchen-saw the track

Of muddy rubber boots across the floor, / The many paper parcels in a stack

Upon the dresser; with accustomed care

Removed the twine and put the wrappings by, / Folded, and the bags flat, that with an air

Of ease had been whipped open skillfully, / To the gape of children. Treacherously dear

And simple was the dull, familiar task.

And so it was she came at length to ask:

How came the soda there? The sugar here?

Then the dream broke. Silent, she brought the mop, / And forced the trade-slip on the nail that held his razor strop.