E. E. Cummings

Somebody Knew Lincoln Somebody Xerxes

somebody knew Lincoln somebody Xerxes
 
this man:a narrow thudding timeshaped face
plus innocuous winking hands, carefully
inhabits number 1 on something street
 
Spring comes
                the lean and definite houses
 
are troubled.   A sharp blue day
fills with peacefully leaping air
the minute mind of the world.
The lean and
 
definite houses are
troubled.in the sunset their chimneys converse
angrily,their
roofs are nervous with the soft furious
light,and while fire-escapes and
roofs and chimneys and while roofs and fire-escapes and
chimeys and while chimneys and fire-escapes
and roofs are talking rapidly all together there happens
Something,and They
 
cease(and
one by one are turned suddenly and softly
into irresponsible toys.)
                              when this man with
 
the brittle legs winces
swiftly out of number 1 someThing
street and trickles carefully into the park
sits
 
Down.  pigeons circle
around and around and around the
 
irresponsible toys
circle wildly in the slow-ly-in creasing fragility
—. Dogs
bark
children
play
-ing
     Are
 
in the beautiful nonsense of twilight
 
and somebody Napoleon
Other works by E. E. Cummings...



Top