freeverse: can (you guess) the poet (from this post) title?
by Jenners • 02/03/2010 • Poetry • 9 Comments
hosted by cara at ooh…books!
today i want to highlight e.e. cummings, the poet who seems to avoid capital letters! i fell in love with this poem when i first read it. it tells a lovely and somewhat sad little story, and the words are arranged just so nicely. (i particularly enjoy the line “with up so floating many bells down.”) also, i have decided to start providing links to information on the poets featured in my freeverse posts so you can find more information about them and their other poems (if you so desire.)
enjoy.
anyone lived in a pretty how town
by e.e. cummings
anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did.
Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain
children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more
when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone’s any was all to her
someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hope and then) they
said their nevers they slept their dream
stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt to forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)
one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was
all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.
Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain
she being Brand… (XIX)
—-
she being Brand
-new;and you
know consequently a
little stiff i was
careful of her and(having
thoroughly oiled the universal
joint tested my gas felt of
her radiator made sure her springs were O.
K.)i went right to it flooded-the-carburetor cranked her
up,slipped the
clutch(and then somehow got into reverse she
kicked what
the hell)next
minute i was back in neutral tried and
again slo-wly;bare,ly nudg. ing(my
lev-er Right-
oh and her gears being in
A 1 shape passed
from low through
second-in-to-high like
greasedlightning)just as we turned the corner of Divinity
avenue i touched the accelerator and give
her the juice,good
(it
was the first ride and believe i we was
happy to see how nice she acted right up to
the last minute coming back down by the Public
Gardens i slammed on
the
internalexpanding
&
externalcontracting
brakes Bothatonce and
brought allofher tremB
-ling
to a:dead.
stand-
;Still)
Why does Cummings seem to always seem to have (more thoughts in parentheses)?
I'm not sure if I've seen this one before.
Cummings is sometimes hard for me to follow. I'll have to read it through a couple of times.
One thing I love about cummings is that he demands my attention while reading. He makes me think while I'm figuring out what feelings he wants to convey.
And (yes I guessed who) from the title
I didn't think it was possible to love you more but now I know I do!!!!! This is one of my allll all alllllllll time favoritesss!!!! It makes me want to cry and explode with love all at the same time.
'Down they forgot as up they grew' will be tattooed on me one day.
I love how closely one has to read this to make sense of it. I am a fast reader, and poetry sometimes slips by me if I'm lazy. This one forced me to pay entire attention.
That is my favorite cummings poem and my favorite just in general. Thanks.
Not too sure about this one. I think I was a little distracted by the lack of capitals. Being a one-time teaching assistant how I longed to correct it.
Cummings is wonderful. I had one of his poems read at my wedding, actually.
i carry your heart
i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you
here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart
i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)