Category: E. E. Cummings

Sea for Yourself

10/9/2020

I wrote a song based on E. E. Cummings' poem "maggie and milly and molly and may." It's a short, sweet poem about four girls' trip to the beach. The poem is almost like a nursery rhyme, but -- like many of Cummings' poems -- it is packed full of meaning. Here's a great analysis of the poem I found -- click HERE.

Cummings' poem is below on the left, and my lyrics are then show on the right. I have to admit -- I did make a change to the fourth line of the poem so that it would fit with the rhythm of the song. I changed "she couldn't remember her troubles" to "she forgot about her troubles." Other than that, I think the lyrics are pretty true to the poem.

By E. E. Cummings:

maggie and milly and molly and may
went down to the beach (to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang
so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star
whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles: and

may came home with a smooth round stone
as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(like a you or a me)
it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

Here are the lyrics:

Maggie and Milly and Molly and May
Went down to the beach (to play one day)
Maggie discovered a shell that sang
So sweetly she forgot about her troubles.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always ourselves we find in the sea

Maggie and Milly and Molly and May
Went down to the beach (to play one day)
Milly befriended a stranded star
Whose rays five languid fingers were.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always ourselves we find in the sea

Molly was chased by a horrible thing
which raced sideways while blowing bubbles.

[Music]

Maggie and Milly and Molly and May
Went down to the beach (to play one day)
May came home with a smooth round stone
As small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always ourselves we find in the sea

For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
It's always ourselves we find in the sea

The music is below. Click the images to enlarge.

Note: I didn't have space to write in the lyrics for the third time through ("May came home..."); however, the complete lyrics are shown above on the right.

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Memorial Day 2020 -- Part 1

5/24/2020

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A poem by E. E. Cummings -- dedicated to the souls who make up Trump's COVID19 Death Toll:

in time of daffodils(who know
the goal of living is to grow)
forgetting why,remember how

in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)

in time of roses(who amaze
our now and here with paradise)
forgetting if,remember yes

in time of all sweet things beyond
whatever mind may comprehend,
remember seek(forgetting find)

and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me,remember me

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In Just --

3/20/2017

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From Jim Asher, the world’s leading authority on Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Spring.

It’s finally Spring, that time of year deemed by Emmett Lee Dickinson as “March mudness” and E. E. Cummings as “mud luscious.”

Spring is also the name of The Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society, and the most recent issue – Fall 2015 (which covers 2015 and 2016) – was actually published at the end of 2016. If you don’t have a copy, be sure to contact the Cummings Society to see if they had additional copies – it’s wonderful!

Some highlights:

There are multiple articles in honor of Norman Friedman, “the first and finest Cummings scholar, and (with David V. Forrest and Richard S. Kennedy) the founder of Spring and The E. E. Cummings Society.” Info HERE.

An analysis of Cummings “l(a,” one of my all-time favorite poems and one I use often to excite students about poetry. The article, “Falling into Spring: Transcendence, Being, and Ambivalent Typography in ‘l(a’ and 95 Poems,” revealed aspects of the poems I had not been aware of. Fascinating!

And on pages 145 and 146 of the 294-page journal, there are even a few take-offs of Cummings’ poetry which I submitted – one, “the darkside is fine)but Darth,” is below on the right. The Cummings’ poem on which it is based, “dying is fine)but Death,” is below on the left.

By E. E. Cummings:

dying is fine)but Death

?o
baby
i

wouldn't like

Death if Death
were
good:for

when(instead of stopping to think)you

begin to feel of it,dying
's miraculous
why?be

cause dying is

perfectly natural;perfectly
putting
it mildly lively(but

Death

is strictly
scientific
& artificial &

evil & legal)

we thank thee
god
almighty for dying
(forgive us,o life!the sin of Death

By Jim Asher:

the darkside is fine)but Darth

?o
bi wan kanob
i

wouldn’t like

Darth if Darth
were
decent:for

then(instead of slaughtering the Clones)you

begin to feel the force
’s phenomenal
why?be

cause the darkside is

entirely natural;entirely
putting
it predictably deadly(but

Darth

is severely
volatile
& explosive &

evil & cruel)

we thank the
force
ubiquitous for the darkside
(forgive us,o Luke! the son of Darth

For more information about Spring, the Journal of the E. E. Cummings Society, click HERE.

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From "Sweet" To "Elite"

3/26/2016

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in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious

It's that time of year again -- that time which E. E. Cummings termed "March Mudness." However, for the rest of us, it's "March Madness," and since we've just transitioned from the "Sweet Sixteen" to the "Elite Eight," we thought we'd post another poem about the tournament by Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request).

Dickinson's poem "Not at home to Callers" (below on the left) inspired third cousin Emily to pen her poem by the same name (below on the right).

By Emmett Lee Dickinson:

Not at Home to Callers
Says the B-ball Fan –
Bracket done in April –
Wishing you Good Day –

By Emily Dickinson:

Not at Home to Callers
Says the Naked Tree –
Jacket due in April –
Wishing you Good Day –

For more of Dickinson's poetry on "March Madness," click HERE.

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Irrational Poetry

3/14/2016

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Daisy Delphi "D. D." Goings (pictured at the left) was one of the first poets to see the creative capabilities of the typewriter, and her works inspired E. E. Cummings to experiment with form and the arrangement of his poetry. As a result, Goings -- who was an ardent fan of Emmett Lee Dickinson (Emily Dickinson's third cousin, twice removed -- at her request) -- was inducted into the Poetry Hall of Fame in 1972 (information is HERE -- see the entry dated April 8th).

In honor of Pi Day, we have posted Going's poem "isn’t so small un endingest pi" (below on the left). Her poem inspired E. E. Cummings to write his poem "so isn’t small one littlest why" (below on the right).

By D. D. Goings:

isn’t so small un endingest pi,
length into round shall turn all for
vast limitless worth either see
there’s more room than three point
one four

and while calculated for ties and whys
have divided a million ways:
irrational ratio constantly in size
forever because it always stays

By E. E. Cummings:

so isn’t small one littlest why,
it into if shall climb all the
blue heaven green earth neither sea
here’s more than room for three
of me

and only while your sweet eyes close
have disappeared a million whys;
but opening if are those eyes
every because is murdered twice

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Sea for Yourself

Memorial Day 2020 -- Part 1

In Just --

From "Sweet" To "Elite"

Irrational Poetry

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