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maggie and milly and molly and 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

Analysis, meaning and summary of e.e. cummings's poem maggie and milly and molly and may

129 Comments

  1. Katy says:

    Such a great poem with a great meaning.I just love it:)

  2. Guido says:

    Natalie Merchant has put this beautiful poem to music in her extraordinary album “Leave your Sleep”. Well worth a listen.

  3. Sharo says:

    Learned of this poem when i was a little girl and it always seemed a little sad to me. Given the environmental desaster of the gusher in our Gulf, this poem has another layer of meaning and makes me even more sad when i read it today.

  4. alan peanuts says:

    this poem makes no sense to me at alll. I HATE IT!!!!

  5. Anna says:

    This is by far my favorite poem!

  6. coco** says:

    this poem is really cool!! i LOOOOOVVVVEEE how it rhymes! irs so unique i love it!

  7. colo says:

    what is this poem about? why aren’t the lines and the names of the pople capatilized and what does the last stanza mean?

  8. Lydia says:

    the more i research this dance for my AS level, there more i am growing to love it
    im basing each section aound each of the girls personalities, i cannt wait to get started.

    i am the only person in my class doing the poem! almost everyone is doing the music.
    my only problem now is trying to get some music to fit in with how i want the dance to come out!
    has anyone got any advise on music they would like to tell me? it would be greatly appreciated!

    x x x

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