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by Wallace Stevens (1879 - 1955)

The Emperor of Ice‑Cream
Language: English 
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 the 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.

Text Authorship:

  • by Wallace Stevens (1879 - 1955), "The Emperor of Ice-Cream", appears in Harmonium, first published 1923 [author's text not yet checked 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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The Emperor of Ice-Cream", 2005 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Andrew Hudson , "The Emperor of Ice Cream" [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Roger Reynolds (b. 1934), "The Emperor of Ice-Cream", published 1963, rev. 1974 [ vocal octet, piano, contrabass, and percussion ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-05-01
Line count: 16
Word count: 113

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