why did you go
little fourpaws?
you forgot to shut
your big eyes.
where did you go?
like little kittens
are all the leaves
which open in the rain.
little kittens who
are called spring,
is what we stroke
maybe asleep?
do you know?or maybe did
something go away
ever so quietly
when we weren’t looking.
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This is one of my favorite poems by Cummings. It is so simple, cute, and childish. “You forgot to shut your big eyes”, Cummings captures the beauty of simplicity.
This is such a sad, cute poem. I hope I’m not oversimplifying it but it sounds like his kitten died.