“It’s hard to say if the music of poetry creates the emotion in a poem, or if it is the poet’s emotion that creates the music. Probably both are true. The intention to write with music, and the fact of doing so, are likely to put the writer in a state in which any emotions present have a good chance of coming out. It’s a well-known quality of music that it can get to feelings very fast; and when a person writes, it can deepen and color whatever is there to be said. There have been poets who wrote poems while listening to music – but usually they are just finding their own, in the words they write. This music is the most essential part of the “translation” a poet makes from ordinary to poetic language.”
—Kenneth Koch, Making Your Own Days: The Pleasures of Reading and Writing Poetry“I needed to find you and, once having found you, to keep you You who could make me a physical Larousse Of everyday living, you who would present me to Gilberte And Anna and Sonia, you by whom I could be a surrealist And a dadaist and almost a fake of Racine and of Molière. I was hiding The heavenly dolor you planted in my heart: That I would never completely have you. I wanted to take you with me on long vacations Always giving you so many kisses, ma française— Across rocky mountains, valleys, and lakes And I wanted it to be as if Nous faisions ce voyage pour l’éternité Et non pas uniquement pour la brève durée d’une année boursière en France. Those days, and that idea, are gone. A little hotel on the rue de Fleurus Was bursting with you. And one April morning, when I woke up, I had you Stuck to the tip of my tongue like a Christmas sticker I walked out into the street, it was Fleurus And said hello which came out Bonjour Madame I walked to the crémerie four doors away and sat down. I was lifted up by you. I knew I couldn’t be anything to you But an aspiring lover. Sans ego. It was the best relationship Of relationships sans ego, that I’ve ever had. I know you love flattery and are so good at it that one can hardly believe What you are saying when it is expressed in you. But I have loved you. That’s no flattering statement But the truth. And still love you, though now I’m not in love with you. The woman who first said this to me nearly broke my heart, But I don’t think I’m breaking yours, because it’s a coeur In the first place and, for another thing, it beats under le soleil On a jeudi or vendredi matin and besides you’re not listening to me At least not as you did on the days I sat around in Aix-en-Provence’s cafés waiting for you To spark a conversation—about nothing in particular. I was on stage At all times, and you were the script and the audience Even when the theatre had no people in it, you were there.”
—“To The French Language,” Kenneth KochPermanently
One day the Nouns were clustered in the street.
An Adjective walked by, with her dark beauty.
The Nouns were struck, moved, changed.
The next day a Verb drove up, and created the Sentence.
Each Sentence says one thing—for example, “Although it was a dark rainy day when
the Adjective walked by, I shall remember the pure and sweet expression on her face
until the day I perish from the green, effective earth.”
Or, “Will you please close the window, Andrew?”
Or, for example, “Thank you, the pink pot of flowers on the window sill has changed color
recently to a light yellow, due to the heat from the boiler factory which exists nearby.”
In the springtime the Sentences and the Nouns lay silently on the grass.
A lonely Conjunction here and there would call, “And! But!”
But the Adjective did not emerge.
As the Adjective is lost in the sentence,
So I am lost in your eyes, ears, nose, and throat—
You have enchanted me with a single kiss
Which can never be undone
Until the destruction of language.
–Kenneth Koch
“Heart, you can be frightening! ”
—Kenneth Koch, Poetry, January 2000Catch a short clip of Kenneth Koch in discussion with Mr. Rogers.
"Permanently" by Kenneth Koch
One day the Nouns were clustered in the street.
An Adjective walked by, with her dark beauty.
The Nouns were struck, moved, changed.
The next day a Verb drove up, and created the Sentence.
Each Sentence says one thing for example, “Although it was a dark rainy day when the Adjective walked by, I shall remember the pure and sweet expression on her face until the day I perish from the green, effective earth.”
Or, “Will you please close the window, Andrew?”
Or, for example, “Thank you, the pink pot of flowers on the window sill has changed color recently to a light yellow, due to the heat from the boiler factory which exists nearby.”
In the springtime the Sentences and the Nouns lay silently on the grass.
A lonely Conjunction here and there would call, “And! But!”
But the Adjective did not emerge.
As the Adjective is lost in the sentence,
So I am lost in your eyes, ears, nose, and throat
You have enchanted me with a single kiss
Which can never be undone
Until the destruction of language.
To My Twenties
How lucky that I ran into you
When everything was possible
For my legs and arms, and with hope in my heart
And so happy to see any woman—
O woman! O my twentieth year!
Basking in you, you
Oasis from both growing and decay
Fantastic unheard of nine- or ten-year oasis
A palm tree, hey! And then another
And another—and water!
I’m still very impressed by you. Whither,
Midst falling decades, have you gone? Oh in what lucky fellow,
Unsure of himself, upset, and unemployable
For the moment in any case, do you live now?
From my window I drop a nickel
By mistake. With
You I race down to get it
But I find there on
The street instead, a good friend
X—— N——, who says to me
Kenneth do you have a minute?
And I say yes! I am in my twenties!
I have plenty of time! In you I marry,
In you I first go to France; I make my best friends
In you, and a few enemies. I
Write a lot and am living all the time
And thinking about living. I loved to frequent you
After my teens and before my thirties.
You three together in a bar
I always preferred you because you were midmost
Most lustrous apparently strongest
Although now that I look back on you
What part have you played?
You never, ever, were stingy.
What you gave me you gave whole
But as for telling
Me how best to use it
You weren’t a genius at that.
Twenties, my soul
Is yours for the asking
You know that, if you ever come back.
-Kenneth Koch
You Want A Social Life, With Friends
Kenneth KochKenneth Koch reading “You Want A Social Life With Friends” (2000)
This was recorded by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, author of Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life. Here’s what she has to say about it:
One of my favorite poems appears in the book on page 144. It is called So You Want A Social Life With Friends, and it is by Kenneth Koch. In the fall of 2000, I had the privilege of recording Mr. Koch reading this poem in his Upper East Side apartment for an audio magazine project I was working on. I used a tiny Radio Shack tape recorder, and take full responsibility for the lack of high sound quality. (But I do admit I like the crackling and soundproof-lessness.) He was an impeccable, flawless reader—we were finished in two or three takes. Though he had been reluctant to agree to our session, once underway, he was a gracious, charismatic host. He had set up a nice tray with glasses of grapefruit juice. Fitting, because the whole thing was bittersweet. Mr. Koch died a year later. I believe this is one of his last recordings.
Amazing! One of my favorite poems, too.
Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
Kenneth Koch
1.
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
and its wooden beams were so inviting.
2.
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
3.
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.
4.
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me, I was clumsy and
I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!
Permanently by Kenneth Koch
One day the Nouns were clustered in the street,
an Adjective walked by, with her dark beauty.
The Nouns were struck, moved, changed.
The next day a Verb drove up, and created a Sentence.
Each Sentence says one thing— for example, “although it was a dark rainy day when the
Adjective walked by, I shall remember the pure and sweet expression on her face until
the day I perish from the green, effective Earth.”
Or, “will you please close the window, Andrew?”
Or, for example, “thank you, the pink pot of flowers on the window sill has changed color
recently to a light yellow, due to the heat from the boiler factory which exists nearby.”
In the springtime the Sentences and the Nouns lay silently on the grass.
A lonely conjunction here and there would call, “And! But!”
but the Adjective did not emerge.
As the Adjective is lost in the Sentence,
so I am lost in your eyes, ears, nose, and throat—
you have enchanted me with a single kiss
which can never be undone
until the destruction of language.
Permanently
one day the nouns were clustered in the street.
an adjective walked by, with her dark beauty.
the nouns were struck, moved, changed.
the next day a verb drove up, and created the sentence.
each sentence says one thing for example, "although it was a dark rainy day when the
adjective walked by, i shall remember the pure and sweet expression on her face until the day i
perish from the green, effective earth."
or, "will you please close the window, andrew?"
or, for example, "thank you, the pink pot of flowers on the window sill has changed color recently
to a light yellow, due to the heat from the boiler factory which exists nearby."
in the springtime the sentences and the nouns lay silently on the grass.
a lonely conjunction here and there would call, "and! but!"
but the adjective did not emerge.
as the adjective is lost in the sentence,
so i am lost in your eyes, ears, nose, and throat
you have enchanted me with a single kiss
which can never be undone
until the destruction of language.
-kenneth koch
Variations on a Theme by William Carlos Williams
Kenneth Koch
1
I chopped down the house that you had been saving to live in next summer.
I am sorry, but it was morning, and I had nothing to do
and its wooden beams were so inviting.
2
We laughed at the hollyhocks together
and then I sprayed them with lye.
Forgive me. I simply do not know what I am doing.
3
I gave away the money that you had been saving to live on for the next ten years.
The man who asked for it was shabby
and the firm March wind on the porch was so juicy and cold.
4
Last evening we went dancing and I broke your leg.
Forgive me. I was clumsy and
I wanted you here in the wards, where I am the doctor!
