On the Edgeis a collection of six long narrative poems by Kenneth Koch. Here are excerpts from three of them. Ko, Or a Season on Earth Meanwhile at the University of Japan Ko had already begun his studies, which While making him an educated man Would also give him as he learned to pitch And catchfor Ko was more than a mere fan, But wished as a playing member to do a hitch With some great teamsomething to think about More interesting than merely Safe and Out. Inyaga, his professor, when he first Appeared to Ko, seemed fashioned like an ape, Protruding jaw and tiny eyes that burst From high cheekbones of chimpanzee shape, But later it was his teaching that Ko cursed, Of which the body merely was the drape: Inyaga taught him baseball was a sin. Ko cried out! Inyaga; "Stop that din At once, or else you'll suffer!" Ko subsides, But his resentment every day gets greater. Meanwhile the Dodgers all had taken brides As was arranged for them by Mr. Slater, Their crafty manager, who thus provides A human interest for the fans, who, later, When they find out his trick, will make him pay; But for the moment it is Slater's day. Impressions of Africa In the great, bracing air of Kenya The lion runs.

Seeing a lion And two lionesses together, The Italian woman said, "E il leone, La sua moglie, e la sua madre" Id est, the wife's mother, A sort of chaperone To the lion and to his wife. The lion's muscles Are amazing. The air Is filled with lions' grace. Viewed without any Human component around, The lion is sensational Simply of and in himself. Seasons on Earth In spite of the real suffering around me, And poverty, and spite, I had the sense That there was something else. Each midday found me Ecstatically in the present tense, Writing. And you would have eto come and pound me Quite hard to drag me from my innocence. That sense that now seems almost unbelievable I love it, loved itis it irretrievable? From the Hardcover edition.