Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, ELEGY FOR A YOUNG HOSTESS, by GARRETT OPPENHEIM


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Classic and Contemporary Poetry

ELEGY FOR A YOUNG HOSTESS, by                    
First Line: The cocktail party is over: the broken tumblers
Last Line: Avoiding each other's eyes in the quiet hallway.
Subject(s): Parties


The cocktail party is over: the broken tumblers
Like bruised mouths slobber the wood with amber drivelings.
We praised the liquor, retched in the elegant privy,
And alkalized on the terrace. You did not come to us
There -- there to watch the ruins of sunset crumble
And smoke in the charred skies. But in the living room
We found black coffee dancing on the trivet,
And you, not dancing, white. . .the salts! . .won't somebody . . .

You shall not stand any more at the high parapets,
Naming the landmarks. Neither shall you call to us
From the tower lawns, nor move through twilight, carrying
Trays of hors-d'oeuvres among us.
Our hands faltering,
We grope for our hats, we ebb in slow embarrassment,
Avoiding each other's eyes in the quiet hallway.





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