“Let the wenches dawdle in such dress
As they are used to wear, and let the boys
Bring flowers in last month’s newspapers” (Stevens, 4-6).
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45234/the-emperor-of-ice-cream
These verses come from “The Emperor of Ice Cream,” a poem by Wallace Stevens. The poem itself is about a funeral, and I specifically selected these lines because they highlight the main idea of the poem. Namely, these lines emphasize the casual aspect of the funeral, and how the attendees are dressed in their usual attire, and using old newspapers to carry the flowers.
