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Classic and Contemporary Poetry


LUNCH AT A CLUB by STEPHEN VINCENT BENET

Poet Analysis

First Line: THE MEMBER WITH THE FACE LIKE A PALE HAM
Last Line: THE ELDEST MEMBER DROPS HIS COFFEE SPOON.
Subject(s): LUNCH;

The member with the face like a pale ham
Settles his stomachs in the leather chair;
The member with the mustard-coloured hair
Chats with the member like a curly ram.
Then silence, like the shutting of a clam,
Gulps, and slow eating, and the waiter's stare.
Like prosperous leeches settling to their fare
The members gorge, distending as they cram.

And I am fiery ice -- and a hand knocks
Inside my blood. Three hours till God comes true,
When there's no earth or sky or time in clocks,
But only Hell and Paradise and You.
Life bows his strings! I shout the amazing tune --
The eldest member drops his coffee spoon.



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