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by Ezra Pound (1885 - 1972)

Desolate is the roof where the cat sat
Language: English 
Desolate is the roof where the cat sat, 
Desolate is the iron rail that he walked 
And the corner post whence he greeted the sunrise.
In hill path: "thkk thgk"
                                         of the loom
"Thk, thkk" and the sharp sound of a song
         under olives
When I lay in the ingle of Circe 
I heard a song of that kind.
         Fat panther lay by me
Girls talked there of fucking, beasts talked there of eating, 
All heavy with sleep, fucked girls and fat lepoards,
Lions loggy with Circe's tisane, 
Girls leery with Circe's tisane
         wolf to curry favour for food
—  born to Helios and Perseis
         That had Pasiphae for a twin
Venter venustus, cunni cultrix, of the velvet marge 
         ver novum, canorum, ver novum
Spring overborne into summer 
         late spring in the leafy autumn
Always with your mind on the past....
Ad Orcum autem quisquam?
         nondum nave nigra pervenit........
Been to hell in a boat yet?

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with Ezra Pound and Dorothy Pound, Shakespear’s Pound: Illuminated Cantos, Nacogdoches, TX : LaNana Creek Press, 1999


Text Authorship:

  • by Ezra Pound (1885 - 1972), "Canto XXXIX", appears in Shakespear’s Pound: Illuminated Cantos [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

  • by Sheila Silver (b. 1946), "CANTO", 1979, first performed 1979 [ baritone and instrumental ensemble ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-02-13
Line count: 25
Word count: 156

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