Today at Gathering Books we’re serving up some e.e. cummings for poetry friday as hosted by Random Noodling.
I haven’t read much of e.e. cumming’s poetry. If I recall right it was Fats who first introduced me to his work. Well, I sort of heard of him before, but back in college Fats I think was raving about him. In terms of poetry, I’m a sucker for unusual details, like starting stanzas with small letters and the reference to syntax – its unusual imagery, and you get all that and more with cummings.
since feeling it first
since feeling it first
who pays any attention
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;
wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world
my blood approves,
and kisses are far better fat
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry
–the best gestures of my brain is less than
your eyelids’ flutter which says
we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life’s not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis.
Gathering Books 
“for life’s not a paragraph”
But for a prisoner, life IS a sentence! Sorry, I couldn’t resist.
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Hahaha. I love that line, but i think I like yours as well. Does make sense. 🙂
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Diane already took my favorite line! But I also like those fluttering eyelids, better than the best gestures of his brain. Thanks Iphigene.
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Ah that makes three of us loving that line. Its the line that made me post this poem. But agree, the fluttering eyelids compared to his brain is a lovely image.
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I like the sudden “lady i swear by all flowers.” Thanks for sharing this!
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It’s an unexpected turn of phrase isn’t it…but i do wonder how valid such a promise is….since he is swearing by all flowers.
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I agree with what the others have said! Or should I say “my blood approves.”
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Thanks Tabatha for dropping by….:)
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Cummings is my favorite poet! I need to practice fluttering my eyelids :).
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Hahaha. Fluttering eyelids may lead to dizzy spells…i imagine. I have to read more of his work, but the few I’ve read, i’ve enjoyed.
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Me too!
“–the best gestures of my brain is less than
your eyelids’ flutter”
*Swoon!*
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its indeed a swoon worth reply, especially coming from a poet.
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“kisses are far better fat than wisdom” — yum. I found cummings toward the end of high school. Anyone remember the scene in the movie “Hannah and Her Sisters” when Michael Caine reads a cummings poem?
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I’ve never seen that film…now i’d like to check it out. Needless to say, the imagery is very original.
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What I love about cummings is there is a part of my brain that says YES while the rest is scratching it’s head. Those first four lines can keep me awake at night. I think he’s laughing at me.
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Hahaha. I agree with you. indeed.
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cummings is one of my favorite poets. I find the first four lines of this poem so haunting.
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Indeed it is. My, my, a lot of ee cumming fan around here. I should really start reading his work more. Thanks for dropping by.
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“And death i think is no parenthesis.”
Maybe death is an elipses…
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I’m a sucker for poems that just throw such unexpected words to their imagery. I have to confess the use of ‘syntax, paragraph, parenthesis and ellipses’ made me weak….thanks for dropping by Mary lee
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Those last two lines are just sublime….I love cummings for his sly humor, but also his ability to capture the essence of love in everyday gestures. Thanks for this gift today!
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Hmm, I thought the line was probably supposed to say “kisses are better far than wisdom,” but when I googled that I found that some sites say “kisses are a better fate than wisdom.” I think kisses and wisdom both have their place. 🙂 Enjoyed the poem!
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