| Harriet Monroe, ed. (1860–1936). Poetry: A Magazine of Verse. 1912–22. | | | | Mr. Apollinax | | By T. S. Eliot |
| | From “Observations”
WHEN Mr. Apollinax visited the United States | |
| His laughter tinkled among the teacups. | |
| I thought of Fragilion, that shy figure among the birch trees, | |
| And of Priapus in the shrubbery | |
| Gaping at the lady in the swing. | 5 |
| In the palace of Mrs. Phlaccus, at Professor Channing-Cheetah’s, | |
| His laughter was submarine and profound | |
| Like the old man of the sea’s | |
| Hidden under coral islands | |
| Where worried bodies of drowned men drift down in the green silence, dropping from fingers of surf. | 10 |
| I looked for the head of Mr. Apollinax rolling under a chair, | |
| Or grinning over a screen | |
| With seaweed in its hair. | |
| I heard the beat of centaurs’ hoofs over the hard turf | |
| As his dry and passionate talk devoured the afternoon. | 15 |
| “He is a charming man”, “But after all what did he mean?” | |
| “His pointed ears—he must be unbalanced”, | |
| “There was something he said which I might have challenged.” | |
| Of dowager Mrs. Phlaccus, and Professor and Mrs. Cheetah | |
| I remember a slice of lemon, and a bitten macaroon. | 20 | | | |
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