I know but will not tell
you, Aunt Irene, why there
are soap suds in the whiskey:
Uncle Robert had to have
A drink while shaving.
I know but will not tell
you, Aunt Irene, why there
are soap suds in the whiskey:
Uncle Robert had to have
a drink while shaving.
May there be no bloodshed
in your house this morning
of my father's death and no
unkept appearance in the living,
since he will have to wear
the rouge and lipstick
of your ceremony, Mother,
for the first and last time
Father, hello and goodbye.
Elegy by Alan Dugan • 26 poems by Alan DuganEdit
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Alan Dugan was born February 12, 1923, in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Jamaica, Queens. He began his undergraduate education at Queens College in 1941, but after two years he was drafted into the Army Air Forces. He resumed his studies at Olivet College and received a B.A. from Mexico City College in 1949. For the next ten years, Dugan held various jobs in advertising, publishing and medical supply in New York City while he began his career as a poet.
Dugan's volumes of poetry include Poems Seven: New and Complete Poetry (Seven Stories Press, 2001), winner of the National Book Award; Poems Six (1989); Poems Five: New and Collected Poems (1983), Poems 4 (1974); Collected Poems (1969); Poems 3 (1967); Poems 2 (1963); and Poems (1961), selected for the Yale Series of Younger Poets and winner of the National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize. He has also received the Levinson Award from Poetry magazine, the Prix de Rome from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation.
Dugan was a member of the faculty of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown, Massachusetts.
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By Alan Dugan, © 1969, All rights reserved.
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Editor notes
The line breaks are guess-timates from a prose rendering.
For Guest Patrick and others
Many thanks. This appears to be taken from his book Modern Occasions 1.
Jimthis is not the whole poem!
From guest Patrick (contact)
The whole poem (from memory... line breaks may be wrong): Elegy I know but will not tell you, Aunt Irene, why there are soap suds in the whiskey: Uncle Robert had to have a drink while shaving. May there be no bloodshed in your house this morning of my father's death and no unkept appearance in the living, since he will have to wear the rouge and lipstick of your ceremony, Mother, for the first and last time Father, hello and goodbye. This is one of my favorite poems, and seeing people comment on the first four lines as if they were the whole is just heartbreaking. As is the poem in its entirety.
- He got drunk while shaving and killed himself? Hmmmmmm. His shaving material doesn't matter. This confuzzles me :S
Thought provoking. Wish there was another verse.
I seems to me that he/she said Aunt Irene would not br told and
then proceded to admit to Uncle Robert's shaving and drinking.
I wonder what was his shaving material? Gel,cream,soap stick?
Also, what was he drinking? And why can"t Irene know the facts?- Yes it is funny, the poets supposedly not telling and yets tells. I wonder if aunt Irene was a termagent? one can't help feeling a bit sorry for uncle Robert why did he need the drink in the first place and would aunt Irene make his life miserable? poor man was he married to a nag and at the end of his tether? or was she his maiden sister always telling him what to do? so many scenarios come to the mind, and I do wonder if he shaved with the whiskey and drank the shaving water instead. how did the soap suds get into the whiskey unless he dipped his shaving brush in it. a thoroughly delightful little poem. Why is it called Elegy?
Edited on Dec 29, 3:40 p.m. because ''. - There is not much said, but I agree with AndrewHide... it is a bit humorous. I liked this poem.
~'Chelle - Although very little is said in this piece, so much is implied.
This brief scene could be the setting for thousands of stories, so strong is the picture. I can't help but smile when reading this, the characters are vividly real and loverble.
Andrew
