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W H Auden - Victor
Work rating: Low

Victor was a little baby,
Into this world he came;
His father took him on his knee and said:
`Don`t dishonour the family name.`

Victor looked up at his father
Looked up with big round eyes:
His father said; `Victor, my only son,
Don`t you ever ever tell lies.`

Victor and his father went riding
Out in a little dog-cart;
His father took a Bible from his pocket and read;
`Blessed are the pure in heart.`

It was a frosty December
Victor was only eighteen,
But his figures were neat and his margins were straight
And his cuffs were always clean.

He took a room at the Peveril,
A respectable boarding-house;
And Time watched Victor day after day
As a cat will watch a mouse.

The clerks slapped Victor on the shoulder;
`Have you ever had woman?` they said,
`Come down town with us on Saturday night.`
Victor smiled and shook his head.

The manager sat in his office,
Smoked a Corona cigar:
Said; `Victor`s a decent fellow but
He`s too mousy to go far.`

Victor went up the his bedroom,
Set the alarum bell;
Climbed into bed, took his Bible and read
Of what happened to Jezebel.

It was the First of April,
Anna to the Peveril came;
Her eyes, her lips, her breasts, her hips
And her smile set men aflame,

She looked as pure as a schoolgirl
On her First Communion day,
But her kisses were like the best champagne
When she gave herself away.

It was the Second of April.
She was wearing a coat of fur;
Victor met her upon the stair
And he fell in love with her.

The first time he made his proposal,
She laughed, said; `I`ll never wed;
The second time there was a pause;
Then she smiled and shook her head.

Anna looked into her mirror,
Pouted and gave a frown:
Said `Victor`s as dull as a wet afternoon
But I`ve got to settle down.`

The third time he made his proposal,
As they walked by the Reservoir:
She gave him a kiss like a blow on the head,
Said; `You are my heart`s desire.`

They were married early in August,
She said; `Kiss me, you funny boy`;
Victor took her in his arms and said;
`O my Helen of Troy.`

It was the middle of September,
Victor came to the office one day;
He was wearing a flower in his buttonhole,
He was late but he was gay.

The clerks were talking of Anna,
The door was just ajar:
One said, `Poor old Victor, but where ignorance
Is bliss, et cetera.`

Victor stood still as a statue,
The door was just ajar:
One said, `God, what fun I had with her
In that Baby Austin car.`

Victor walked out into the High Street,
He walked to the edge of town:
He came to the allotments and the rubbish heap
And his tears came tumbling down.

Victor looked up at the sunset
As he stood there all alone;
Cried; `Are you in Heaven, Father?`
But the sky said `Address not known`.

Victor looked at the mountains,
The mountains all covered in snow
Cried; `Are you pleased with me, Father?`
And the answer came back, No.

Victor came to the forest,
Cried: `Father, will she ever be true?`
And the oaks and the beeches shook their heads
And they answered: `Not to you.`

Victor came to the meadow
Where the wind went sweeping by:
Cried; `O Father, I love her so`,
But the wind said, `She must die`.

Victor came to the river
Running so deep and so still:
Crying; `O Father, what shall I do?`
And the river answered, `Kill`.

Anna was sitting at table,
Drawing cards from a pack;
Anna was sitting at table
Waiting for her husband to come back.

It wasn`t the Jack of Diamonds
Nor the Joker she drew first;
It wasn`t the King or the Queen of Hearts
But the Ace of Spades reversed.

Victor stood in the doorway,
He didn`t utter a word:
She said; `What`s the matter, darling?`
He behaved as if he hadn`t heard.

There was a voice in his left ear,
There was a voice in his right,
There was a voice at the base of his skull
Saying, `She must die tonight.`

Victor picked up a carving-knife,
His features were set and drawn,
Said; `Anna it would have been better for you
If you had not been born.`

Anna jumped up from the table,
Anna started to scream,
But Victor came slowly after her
Like a horror in a dream.

She dodged behind the sofa,
She tore down a curtain rod,
But Victor came slowly after her:
Said; `Prepare to meet thy God.`

She managed to wrench the door open,
She ran and she didn`t stop.
But Victor followed her up the stairs
And he caught her at the top.

He stood there above the body,
He stood there holding the knife;
And the blood ran down the stairs and sang,
`I`m the Resurrection and the Life`.

They tapped Victor on the shoulder,
They took him away in a van;
He sat as quiet as a lump of moss
Saying, `I am the Son of Man`.

Victor sat in a corner
Making a woman of clay:
Saying; `I am Alpha and Omega, I shall come
To judge the earth some day.`
Source
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