There are nine very important lines from "It's Nothing to Laugh About" left out in the Roominghouse Madrigals 1988 version:
Following the line in Madrigals on p. 173 "his green skin happy against the blue-chill water," there are these nine lines which are in the Cold Dogs 1965 version:
"and then he saw a red mouth that
was like an animal itself--
a red snake in a circle
and the teeth like slabs of back walls
of some inescapable cell...
down through the caves to bitter salt
and the bloodied asphodel,
but casting the eye outward
like some desperate hook."
These are all left out in the Roominghouse version. Not only are these among the most beautiful lines of the poem, the whole poem builds to this final appearance of the snake. If anyone has the Impetus, no. 5 1960 version it would be interesting to compare.
Following the line in Madrigals on p. 173 "his green skin happy against the blue-chill water," there are these nine lines which are in the Cold Dogs 1965 version:
"and then he saw a red mouth that
was like an animal itself--
a red snake in a circle
and the teeth like slabs of back walls
of some inescapable cell...
down through the caves to bitter salt
and the bloodied asphodel,
but casting the eye outward
like some desperate hook."
These are all left out in the Roominghouse version. Not only are these among the most beautiful lines of the poem, the whole poem builds to this final appearance of the snake. If anyone has the Impetus, no. 5 1960 version it would be interesting to compare.
