i am a beggar always
who begs in your mind

(slightly smiling, patient, unspeaking
with a sign on his
chest
BLIND)yes i

am this person of whom somehow
you are never wholly rid(and who

does not ask for more than
just enough dreams to
live on)
after all, kid

you might as well
toss him a few thoughts

a little love preferably,
anything which you can’t
pass off on other people: for
instance a
plugged promise-

the he will maybe (hearing something
fall into his hat)go wandering
after it with fingers;till having

found
what was thrown away
himself
taptaptaps out of your brain, hopes, life
to(carefully turning a
corner)never bother you any more

Analysis, meaning and summary of e.e. cummings's poem I Am A Beggar Always

8 Comments

  1. Jake P says:

    I wrote this in a yearbook of someone that is like a sister to me, I hope they also understand what it means.

    This is my favorite poem, it feels like my life.

  2. alison says:

    one of my best friends wrote this poem in my yearbook it was close 2 making me cry i love it to me it says that friendship is important it can feel like love at some itmes, it can be a bond in which you can share your deepest darkest secrets and never have to fear anything will be told to someone else and that you’ll never have to feel alone. But one day it will end as death comes about and you don’t want to dwell on the loss of a friend so he will ‘never bother you anymore’

  3. nancy says:

    I first read this poem in 1987 in the library at SDSU when I was a freshman. I remember that it literally made me catch my breath, because it was the first poem I’d ever read that I completely understood and that I committed to memory. So, not having thought of it in a long time I found myself unable to remember the last part and found it here. 20 years later, still moving.

  4. Kerry says:

    This is a favorite of mine. I read it over and over trying to totally understand it.
    (not that I can or will in the near future…or ever)
    I think it may be about ignorance.I think so…I’ll go read it again. 🙂

  5. Bob says:

    This is the poem that made me like poetry

  6. Gretchen Northrop says:

    this has got to be one of my most favorite EE Cummings poems… ^^

  7. Chelsea says:

    This is a wonderful poem i reall like it is wish that someday i could write poetry like this.

  8. Kelly Ishihara says:

    In the pit of my stomache
    Simply short of breath
    Anger in my finger tips

    I really like your site.

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