An analysis of “The Emperor of Ice-cream” by Mohammad Sadegh Balouchi

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 multifaceted poem, which for all it imagery, signifies the eventuality of death. On the one hand, we are invited to witness a wake which is held for a deceased lady, while there is an undercurrent of hustling and bustling, prepping ice-cream for the attending guests. Furthermore, Wallace has juxtaposed carnal desires alongside death to show us the ordinary existence of lusting after worldly desires won’t last long and the finale of the human act comes when it is time to depart this world. It is interesting to note that Wallace is alluding to ” The Emperor’s New Cloth” as an aha moment so to speak to suggest death should evoke some epiphany in us. The Persian poet Hafez says a mouthful in his sonnets when he likens the ghost of human beings to a fowl which has been trapped inside a cage, or when he describes the morbid life as a veil, which when lifted, gives away the truth, which is not as it has always seemed to be. Consequently, the muscular guy who works as a cigar maker should take heed when he is called upon to go whip the milk to make ice-cream that one day his turn will come to depart this world, so should the wenches who strut their stuff, so should the young guys who are bringing flowers for the dead lady and thinking they are invincible. On the other hand, most critics have been confounded by the cacophony of words such as “concupiscent” to describe curd or “horny” to describe the feet of the deceased. However, Wallace means to hammer it in us that this is the property of the flesh, that our wants and desires are perforce tainted with disease

شعرى كه امروز براتون در نظر گرفتم اثر والس استيونز شاعر و نويسنده امريكايى، تحصيل كرده دانشگاه هاروارد هست. او متولد سال ١٨٧٩ ميلادى بود و در سال ١٩٥٥ وفات كرد. اسم شعر هست امپراطور يا سلطان بستنى. در اين شعر استيونز زندگى دنيا را به بستنى تشبيه كرده كه خيلى خوشمزه هست ولى به اندازه اب شدن همون بستنى دوام دارد و سلطان بستنى با اتمام اون بايد سلطنت خود را رها كند.
Call the roller of big cigars
لوله كن سيگارهاى بزرگ را صدا كنيد.
The muscular one, and bid him whip
اون تنومندشان را و از او بخواهيد هم زند
In kitchen cups concupiscent curds

Curd نوعى پنير جز مواد اوليه بستنى
در ليوانهاى اشپزخانه پنيركهاى شهوتى را.( در اينجا شاعر از لغتى استفاده كرده كه در مورد خوشمزه بودن به كار نمى رود و خواسته خوردن را هم با شهوترانى در يك سطح قرار دهد براى همين از concupiscent استفاده كرده).

Let the wenches dawdle in such dress as they are used to wear, and let the boys bring flower in last month’s newspaper
بگذاريد خانمها لباسهايى كه به ان عادت دارند بپوشندو اينور و اون ور پلك بخورند و بگذاريد پسرها گلهايشان را در روزنامه هاى ماه گذشته بياورند.
Let be be finale of seem
بگذاريد بودن پرده اخر ظاهر باشد
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream
تنها سلطان، سلطان بستنيست.
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.
از كمد كاج اون پارچه اى كه سه دكمه شيشه اش گم شده و روز گارى روى ان كبوتر گلدوزى كرده بود بياوريد و روى صورت او بكشيد.
در اين قسمت شعر استيونز به زندگى به چشم جسد مرده يك زن نگاه مى كند كه روزگارى روح در بدن عادت مى كند و روزمره گى باعث مى شود فراموش كنيم كه روزى مانند اين زن كه مرده است ما هم خواهيم مرد و همه كارهاى مان مانند اين گلدوزى كبوتر كه اين زن انجام داده به هنگام مرگ روى صورتمان خواهند گذاشت.

If her horny feet protrude, they come to show how cold she is, and dumb.
اگر پاهاى شهوانيش بيش از حد بيرون است، حالا ديگر نشان از اين دارد چقدر سرد وگنگ بوده.
( باز هم استيونز به زندگى به چشم يك جسد مرده زن نگاه مى كند كه با اتمام زندگى حماقت و بى روحى ان تازه معلوم مى شود.
Let the lamp affix its beam
بگذاريد نور لامپ روى جسد بيافتد
The only emperor is the emperor of ice-cream
تنها سلطان، سلطان بستنيست.