“The Emperor of Ice-Cream“ by Wallace Stevens (read by Tom O’Bedlam)

One explanation is that this actually happened: an old lady died suddenly. The poem is about the state of shock that follows a catastophic event. So, from the clues, the poet is recalling the death of a poor, possibly black, woman. “The Emperor of Ice-Cream“ is a local character, who is muscular, rolls big cigars and caters for events such as wakes and funerals. Maybe he calls himself Emperor because he runs an Emporium. Maybe he got the title as a joke on happier occasions. Here and now he represe