Lunch at a City Club by Stephen Vincent Benét

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend June 22, 2014   Lunch at a City Club   Stephen Vincent Benét

(For, though not to, D. M. C.) The member with the face like a pale ham Settles his stomachs in the leather chair. The member with the mustard-color hair Chats with the member like a curly ram, Then silence like the shutting of a clam, Gulps, and slow eating, and the waiters’ 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 heart. 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 dullest member drops his coffee spoon.            This poem is in the public domain. About This Poem   “Lunch at a City Club” by Stephen Vincent Benét was published in Benet’s collection Heavens and Earth: A Book of Poems (1920).   Stephen Vincent Benét was born July 22, 1898, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. Benét was successful at writing several literary forms, including novels, short stories, screenplays, and radio broadcasts. His most famous work is John Brown’s Body for which he received the Pulitzer Prize in 1929. Benét died on March 13, 1943, in New York City. Poetry by Benét   Selected Works of Stephen Vincent Benet Vol. II (Benson Press, 2013) “Drum” by Philip Levine “Man Eating” by Jane Kenyon “Breakfast” by Minnie Bruce Pratt Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038