10

People have favorite things that happen to them, like being bumped up to first class on airplane trips or when the clerk accidentally gives you change for a $20 when you only gave him a $10. One of my favorite things is when I run into someone who shares the same taste in poetry. Steph mentioned she enjoyed cummings from her dabbles with him in English class, and Henry from Time Traveller's likes Marvell, but unfortunately that's as far as our poetic similarities go. I long to find a friend to praise Dickinson, Marvell and Pound with (and bonus if they know Ralph Fletcher too) but everyone has their own tastes; "different strokes for different folks" as Jia would say.

So then on to cummings. Pay attention to the highlighted line, it's marvelous.

***

10

maggie + milly + molly + 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.