Emperor of Ice Cream

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.


The Emperor Of Ice Cream is a poem that I believe, according to some other analysis, deals with life and death. The first part is saying that we try to make life seem better than it really is and we have to "let the finale be of seem" or realize that life is what you make it. The second part deals more with death, saying we try to think that our whole lives we did something good, but then found out that our "horny feet protrude", or that we really didn't make a significant impact on anything. "The only emperor is the emperor of ice cream." This line in the poem explains that death is hard and cold and everything else melts away at one point in time.

Basic Info - Wallace Stevens

Wallace Stevens was a 20th century poet, born in Reading,Pennsylvania on October 2, 1879. He attended college at Harvard University and became a lawyer in 1904. While working as a lawyer for 12 years, he began to write poetry. After a few years of this, he published his first book in 1923. The poems inside this book illustrate just how imaginative he is with his writing. The way he fools around with words clearly shows what a great writer he is.