only living boy in new york
Note: After looking up E. E. Cummings' Wikipedia page, I discovered that he didn't show a preference for the popular lowercase version of his name (e.e. cummings). The use of this version was initiated by his publishers, as a tribute to his poetic style. He himself most often signed his name with capitals. That's why I'm referring to him thus.
The minute I read 'Somewhere I Have Never Traveled', I fell in love. There was a beauty to the words, the careless loveliness of flowers strewn across a room. E. E. Cumming's utter disregard for capitalization was enchanting. A critic called his lowercase style 'eccentric' and 'immature' but he conveyed more meaning in one word than others did in reams of conventional verse.
In this poem, he employs no full stops, little punctuation, and the entirety of his imagination.
somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond
by E. E. Cummings
somewhere i have never traveled, gladly beyond any experience, your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near your slightest look easily will unclose me though i have closed myself as fingers, you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching skilfully, mysteriously) her first rose or if your wish be to close me, i and my life will shut very beautifully, suddenly, as when the heart of this flower imagines the snow carefully everywhere descending; nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals the power of your intense fragility: whose texture compels me with the color of its countries, rendering death and forever with each breathing (i do not know what it is about you that closes and opens; only something in me understands the voice of your eyes is deeper than all roses) nobody, not even the rain, has such small hands
In random news, here's a flower which blooms from a cactus at night:
Sometime in June or July, the night blooming Cereus cactus in the Arizona desert opens to reveal a fragrant white flower.
I set out to find five cheery lines on happiness. Somewhere along the way, I wound up with seven semi happy quotes about scars and money and cynicism, and inserted them here because I...liked them. *shuffles feet*
“It's so hard to forget pain, but it's even harder to remember sweetness. We have no scar to show for happiness. We learn so little from peace.”
― Chuck Palahniuk, Diary
“This planet has - or rather had - a problem, which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movement of small green pieces of paper, which was odd because on the whole it wasn't the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
“They say a person needs just three things to be truly happy in this world: someone to love, something to do, and something to hope for.”
― Tom Bodett
“Happiness is a risk. If you’re not a little scared, then you’re not doing it right.”
― Sarah Addison Allen, The Peach Keeper
“All I ask is one thing, and I’m asking this particularly of young people: please don’t be cynical. I hate cynicism, for the record, it’s my least favorite quality and it doesn’t lead anywhere. Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.”
― Conan O'Brien
“I don't know what good it is to know so much and be smart as whips and all if it doesn't make you happy.”
― J.D. Salinger, Franny and Zooey
Aaand lastly, my favourite line from my favourite song, 'Only Living Boy in New York':
“I've got nothing to do today but smile.”
― Simon and Garfunkel
Do you have any favourite quotes or verse? If so, what are they?
(: <3 <3 <3 :)