The Emperor of Ice-Cream
Call the roller of big cigars,
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
"Ice Cream" is a soft delight, the simple and sweet culmination of a long meal or a long walk along the beach with a loved one. An emperor is a ruler whose holdings know no bounds, whose rule outstrips the visible boundaries of his native people. Perhaps, then, "The Emperor of Ice-Cream" is the height of every simple pleasure, the eternal rest that every man and woman looks forward to after their long and perhaps trying time on earth.
Or perhaps "The Emperor of Ice Cream" is a big guy sitting on a big tub of Rocky Road.
The first stanza definitely describes an idyllic, simple scene. "The roller of big cigars" suggests a working class type, one possessing great strength. The contrasting image of a man dishing up "kitchen cups of concupiscent curds" is very telling. "Concupiscent" means "vigorously passionate, lusty - having or expressing strong emotions." The adjective describes possibly the image of the curds scooping up alongside the cups, the manner in which the roller of cigars thrashes them out, or the desire which these illicit curd waves elicit in others watching him beat them out.
The muscular one, and bid him whip
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds.
Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month's newspapers.
Let be be finale of seem.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
Take from the dresser of deal,
Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face.
If her horny feet protrude, they come
To show how cold she is, and dumb.
Let the lamp affix its beam.
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.
"Ice Cream" is a soft delight, the simple and sweet culmination of a long meal or a long walk along the beach with a loved one. An emperor is a ruler whose holdings know no bounds, whose rule outstrips the visible boundaries of his native people. Perhaps, then, "The Emperor of Ice-Cream" is the height of every simple pleasure, the eternal rest that every man and woman looks forward to after their long and perhaps trying time on earth.
Or perhaps "The Emperor of Ice Cream" is a big guy sitting on a big tub of Rocky Road.
The first stanza definitely describes an idyllic, simple scene. "The roller of big cigars" suggests a working class type, one possessing great strength. The contrasting image of a man dishing up "kitchen cups of concupiscent curds" is very telling. "Concupiscent" means "vigorously passionate, lusty - having or expressing strong emotions." The adjective describes possibly the image of the curds scooping up alongside the cups, the manner in which the roller of cigars thrashes them out, or the desire which these illicit curd waves elicit in others watching him beat them out.
"Wenches dawdle" creates an image of leisure and simple passage of time, with no worry as to the consequences which may occur. The boys bringing flowers in old newspapers conjures us images of youthful romance, when children do something special, though not going out of their way, to do something for someone else.
"Le be be finale of seem." This oblique phrase suggests that "seems to be" will be enough for a person. Whatever one may be witnessing before us, even if the substance of depth of something is missing or unclear, what remains apparent to the viewer is enough. "Finale" is a grand term as well as finishing element.
The second stanza is sobering and arresting in its morbid imagery.
"Take from the dresser of deal,Lacking the three glass knobs, that sheet
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face."
There is a dead woman featured in this passage, whose face will be covered with a sheet that she had once worked on, on which she had embroidered "fantails". Just the word "fantails" consists of ease and ends, or ease in the end. "Fantails" carries with it a wide assortment of images:
On which she embroidered fantails once
And spread it so as to cover her face."
There is a dead woman featured in this passage, whose face will be covered with a sheet that she had once worked on, on which she had embroidered "fantails". Just the word "fantails" consists of ease and ends, or ease in the end. "Fantails" carries with it a wide assortment of images:
1. Any of a breed of domestic pigeons having a
rounded, fan-shaped tail.
2. Any of several birds of the genus Rhipidura
of eastern Asia and Australia, having a long, fan-shaped tail.
3. Any of a breed of goldfish having a wide, fanlike
double tail fin.
4. A fanlike tail or end.
5. Nautical The stern overhang of a ship.
The pictures on this makeshift funeral shroud indicate common animals which take flight, domestic fish that swim with ease, or the fundamental element of a ship. Captions of movement and fancy contrast with the dead woman whose "horny feet protrude". Even this second stanza points out the callous irony of a lively sheet with a corpse that is cold and dumb -- having no feeling and having nothing to communicate.
"The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream." With the somber and sobering image of a dead woman covered in an unfinished sheet, the contrast of life simple and flowing in the previous stanza does not stop moving. No matter how empty and final death may be, life is still life, and "be" is still there, even if it only "seems" to some.
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