Arts & Sciences

The Apostrophe to Vincentine

by Wallace Stevens 1879–1955

From Harmonium (1923)

Arts & Sciences

I

I figured you as nude between
Monotonous earth and dark blue sky.
It made you seem so small and lean
And nameless,
Heavenly Vincentine.

II

I saw you then, as warm as flesh,
Brunette,
But yet not too brunette,
As warm, as clean.
Your dress was green,
Was whited green,
Green Vincentine.

III

Then you came walking,
In a group
Of human others,
Voluble.
Yes: you came walking,
Vincentine.
Yes: you came talking.

IV

And what I knew you felt
Came then.
Monotonous earth I saw become
Illimitable spheres of you,
And that white animal, so lean,
Turned Vincentine,
Turned heavenly Vincentine,
And that white animal, so lean,
Turned heavenly, heavenly Vincentine.

MLA

Stevens, Wallace. “The Apostrophe to Vincentine.” Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/stevens/30/.

Chicago

Stevens, Wallace. “The Apostrophe to Vincentine.” Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/stevens/30/.

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