Anyone lived in a pretty how town
anyone lived in a pretty how town
(with up so floating many bells down)
spring summer autumn winter
he sang his didn’t he danced his did.
Women and men(both little and small)
cared for anyone not at all
they sowed their isn’t they reaped their same
sun moon stars rain
children guessed(but only a few
and down they forgot as up they grew
autumn winter spring summer)
that noone loved him more by more
when by now and tree by leaf
she laughed his joy she cried his grief
bird by snow and stir by still
anyone’s any was all to her
someones married their everyones
laughed their cryings and did their dance
(sleep wake hoe and then)they
said their nevers and they slept their dream
stars rain sun moon
(and only the snow can begin to explain
how children are apt for forget to remember
with up so floating many bells down)
one day anyone died i guess
(and noone stooped to kiss his face)
busy folk buried them side by side
little by little and was by was
all by all and deep by deep
and more by more they dream their sleep
noone and anyone earth by april
wish by spirit and if by yes.
Women and men(both dong and ding)
summer autumn winter spring
reaped their sowing and went their came
sun moon stars rain
Commentary
Guest poem sent in by
I love this poem so much. At first glance it appears to be a description of a town, but if you notice, “anyone” and “noone” are lovers who are ignored by the same townspeople described and at first, the reader. The reversed word order and repetition also adds to the “Cummings style.” I also enjoyed the use of the cosmos and seasons to show the passing of time.
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From the Wondering Minstrels mailing list, 1999–2008.
Ian Baillieu · 24 May 2003
Cummings uses language in such unexpected ways to charge it with meaning and open it to imagination, that the typo gremlin can easily infiltrate undetected. Here, he did write ‘noone’ (not ‘no one’), and did join the parentheses to adjacent words, but the gremlin has sneaked into the fifth stanza, where ‘hoe’ should be ‘hope’ in the 3rd line, and ‘and’ should be deleted from the 4th line.
A lovely poem, which gains meaning on each re-reading.
Grafe Bob · 3 July 2003
Hi:
This is a blind comment. You may or may not be able to answer this question. Do you have any research on “interpretations” of this particular work? Any referrals?
Thanks.
Bob Grafe
Mullens60 · 27 October 2004
“how children are apt for forget to remember”
should be
“how children are apt to forget to remember”
according to Dover Thrift Editions’ ‘100 Best-Loved Poems’ (ed. Philip Smith).
Robert Hankes · 5 December 2006
this poem is soooooo totally sweet and i think it should be written in goats blood on gold paper… this is coming from a sweet class of sweet seniors at big spring. it doesnt exactly paradoxicly appeal to the minadegative of the googleogative of our generation but i guess the juxtaposition with do for the supercalifragilistic expealidocious time period we live in
-peace