Friday, April 20, 2007

As small as a world and as large as alone

For Poetry Friday:

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

--E. E. Cummings



A stone brought back from Findhorn Bay

14 comments:

  1. I like the stone but not THE LACK OF CAPITALS! That oafish Cummings has a lot to answer for! Findhorn Bay? You mean Findhorn in north east Scotland?

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  2. I don't know why, but that poem made me cry.

    ha! Guess I'm a poet, too...

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  3. A lovely pairing of word and image.
    Thank you.

    The sun is shining for the first time in more than a week over New York City. We have spring today, at alst.

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  4. GraceAnne: Huzzah! I miss Spring in New York. It made me giddy.

    Lady K: Me too.

    YP: Yes, indeed, Findhorn in Northeast Scotland. I was in Scotland for a week in 1999. I visited a friend in Glasgow, and did a little traveling by train over the course of the week. I decided not to get off in Aberdeen ("the granite city") but did spend a little time in Inverness. Since I was visiting off-season, I didn't go any further North. I was worried there'd be no train to take me back to Glasgow!

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  5. A wonderful poem. It made my morning!

    I often wonder why I never read poetry any more (but I don't have time to figure out the answer). Every now and then someone picks one up, tosses it may way and says "Catch!". Thanks.

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  6. I love that cummings poem! And I love great rocks. That one fits your hand so nicely! I can just imagine how smooth and cool it feels.

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  7. i've always loved e.e. cummings.

    joan baez did a wonderful version of "all in green went my love riding." did you ever hear it? she gave a haunting, delicately erotic poem a haunting, delicately erotic melody perfect for her voice. if you can, check it out.

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  8. Thanks for this poem. I really, really enjoyed this one.

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  9. i'm pretty picky about the poems that i like that incorporate strict(ish) meter and rhyme, but this one is lovely. the stone-in-hand makes for a very tactile-ly appealing combination. thank you!

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  10. Hey all--
    I'll respond to you individually tomorrow. Today, I was the parent helper at Lucia's school, and then I spent the rest of the day until 9 pm gardening (with a nap in the middle). I'm gloriously tired. To be continued. xoxoxo, AtG

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  11. ABCGirl: I'm glad you liked it. I'm a fan of Cummings' sonnets, too-- they break rules, and they work.

    HipWriterMama: You're welcome! You and Cloudscome have inspired me to give Poetry Friday another chance.

    Cloudscome: See above.:)

    The Moy: I'll check it out, thanks. I like it when people set poems to music.

    Limpy99: You should have seen the one that got away.

    Tony: You commented on my blog! I miss your letters. I'm glad we live in the same house, and I wouldn't trade that for a year's worth of letters, but still... I like getting notes from you.

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  12. Love this one. Always have. Thanks!

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