On the Edge is a collection of six long narrative poems by Kenneth Koch. Here are excerpts from three of them.
Ko, Or a Season on EarthMeanwhile at the University of JapanKo had already begun his studies, whichWhile making him an educated manWould also give him as he learned to pitchAnd catch—for Ko was more than a mere fan,But wished as a playing member to do a hitchWith some great team—something to think aboutMore interesting than merely Safe and Out.Inyaga, his professor, when he firstAppeared to Ko, seemed fashioned like an ape,Protruding jaw and tiny eyes that burstFrom high cheekbones of chimpanzee shape,But later it was his teaching that Ko cursed,Of which the body merely was the drape:Inyaga taught him baseball was a sin.Ko cried out! Inyaga; "Stop that dinAt once, or else you'll suffer!" Ko subsides,But his resentment every day gets greater.Meanwhile the Dodgers all had taken bridesAs was arranged for them by Mr. Slater,Their crafty manager, who thus providesA human interest for the fans, who, later,When they find out his trick, will make him pay;But for the moment it is Slater's day.
Impressions of AfricaIn the great, bracing air of KenyaThe lion runs. Seeing a lionAnd two lionesses together,The Italian woman said,
"È il leone,La sua moglie, e la sua madre"—
Id est, the wife's mother,A sort of chaperoneTo the lion and to his wife.The lion's musclesAre amazing. The airIs filled with lions' grace.Viewed without anyHuman component around,The lion is sensationalSimply of and in himself.
Seasons on EarthIn spite of the real suffering around me,And poverty, and spite, I had the senseThat there was something else. Each midday found meEcstatically in the present tense,Writing. And you would have eto come and pound meQuite hard to drag me from my innocence.That sense that now seems almost unbelievable—I love it, loved it—is it irretrievable?
Copyright © 2007 by Kenneth Koch. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
