All About Books discussion

since feeling is 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 a better fate
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry
—the best gesture 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

Sorry for the delay, guys.

Hope this is worth the wait!

I love e.e Cummings and I think this poem is slightly weird and very pretty

What a delightful poem Heather - I don't think I've seen it before. I haven't read a lot of Cummings, though I do love his poem with the line "nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands." Based on that poem and this one, I think I should read more of him.

I love the playfulness of this poem, and also there is a truth to what he says. I love the way he puts things: "my blood approves" and "i swear by all flowers."

And then that dig about people who are overly obsessed with the details of syntax is fun since in his poems he doesn't bother with much capitalization or even punctuation at all. Perhaps here's an explanation of his choice? And do those things really matter if the heart of the poem is right? Well sometimes syntax can help with clarity, but this poem does just fine without it. Perfectly clear and charming as well!

Thanks Heather! Definitely worth the wait! :)

I agree with your point about the syntax. I found the poem a bit tongue in cheek, almost poking fun at those who may think you need more syntax in a poem.

This poem is new to me as well. A playful reminder to "lighten up" is much needed (and appreciated) from time to time. I especially liked the last part:

for life’s not a paragraph
And death i think is no parenthesis

Definitely worth the wait Heather. I've always really liked this poem and the last lines of this are actually among the few lines of poetry I know by heart!

I like this poem. I have read some cummings before but not this one.

I agree that there is an element of poking fun at people who put emphasis or value on rules rather than content. However, personally I don't agree with
"kisses are a better fate
than wisdom"

The struggle between reason and passion is one I have wrestled with in the past.

Leslie wrote: "I like this poem. I have read some cummings before but not this one.

I agree that there is an element of poking fun at people who put emphasis or value on rules rather than content. However, p..."

I am similar, Leslie. I think I'm a head person not a heart person (if that makes sense) so I reason and over think things when sometimes I should be more spontaneous.

I don't know how I feel about kisses being a better fate than wisdom. The ultimate is to have both!

Me too Heather, I tend to over-think things as well.

Leslie, I suppose that's why I appreciate the poem's message - since I fail sometimes in the direction of over-thinking, the poem feels like good advice to me. It's a counterbalance to my natural tendency.

For someone on the opposite end of the spectrum who gets too carried away by various passions (Byron for instance), the poem would probably be bad advice indeed!

As in most things, I suppose a balance is probably best for happiness. Easy to do in retrospect .. but sometimes a bit tough to maintain when things are happening quickly.