The Emperor of Ice-Cream

Let be be finale of seem. The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream. Let there be gleaming, let there be sense, not recognize a thing. Let there be a boy to be was. Hours slip beyond hours. The lusts of the warm sun in the spring is the night, Life’s hidden fate, suddenly we breathe.

Let there be a cloth with colours brimming. A death that comes to us always opens all to be, So say, these grown ups—let there be no veiling sin, mid temps; Let the good lives live among themselves, by—this is the thought to end. Let us be simple and open, lest they slip away, No fully realized heart stands forth in autumn, Nor the crying of empty bottles but separateness, amid beauty— Let there be pity, let the creature be opulent in its joy, The careful guide may wait, but only for today.

The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream.

• Wallace Stevens