love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places
yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds
love is a place
& through this place of
love move
(with brightness of peace)
all places
yes is a world
& in this world of
yes live
(skilfully curled)
all worlds
Do you have any comments, criticism, paraphrasis or analysis of this poem that you feel would assist other visitors in understanding the meaning or the theme of this poem by e.e. cummings better? If accepted, your analysis will be added to this page of American Poems. Together we can build a wealth of information, but it will take some discipline and determination.
I think skillfully curled is describing “all worlds”. The word “yes” is used often and can be considered a response that can give many different outcomes. When you say yes you’re opening a door to many different worlds. In this poem, I’d say it’s like “ Yes is a world, and in this world live unopened doors to all worlds.”
“skillfully curled” to me implies the way in which all life and creativity express….from the beginning of genetic expression(even though knowledge of this became available after this poem was written, it is an example of a universal theme), to how a seedling emerges from the seed, to how a thought emerges….all examples of expression of “Yes”!
“skillfully curled” strikes me as a prescient observation about reality that currently figures into the thinking of quantum cosmology.
“skillfully curled” gives me the feeling of comfort, of coziness- it makes me think of a cat curled up in the sun- maybe it means how people who love each other skillfully interwine themselves physically and abstractly, in a way that brings them a feeling of comfort. and the world of yes is the place of faith that enables such skillful curling
I think “skillfully curled” implyies that all the worlds combine to make up a big place,love.
If I may use a quote from the movie Moulin Rouge “the greatest thing we’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return”. I think the first part of Cumming’s poem captures this idea that basically love is the essence of life and being, everything else is secondary. All places (or events perhaps) transpire from our desire for love. Brightness of peace may infer how crystal clear this mission in life is once one knows what they are looking for.
Yes is a positive word from my point of view – but I’m not entirely sure I understand the second verse, I mean what does “skillfully curled” imply???
I find it interesting how cummings miss spells words and replaces words with others to create a deeper meaning. I was wondering what other people think cumings was trying to say with this poem?