Reactions to Poetry; p7

Crepuscule

E. E. Cummings, 18941962

I will wade out
                    	   till my thighs are steeped in burn-
ing flowers
I will take the sun in my mouth
and leap into the ripe air
                                	   	Alive
                                            	               with closed eyes
to dash against darkness
                                	  in the sleeping curves of my
body
Shall enter fingers of smooth mastery
with chasteness of sea-girls
                                	         Will I complete the mystery
of my flesh
I will rise
        	After a thousand years
lipping
flowers
             And set my teeth in the silver of the moon

I found that Crepuscule means ‘twilight’. Which I find to be an interesting title for this poem. It starts out with imagery of a field of flowers, describing them as ‘burning’. This could be taken literally, the flowers are on fire, or maybe it means the flowers are fiery in colors, possibly just being a way to describe the sun, as in the next line describes taking the Sun into ones mouth. Then dashing against the darkness, mentioning sleepp, the sea (be it ‘sea-girls’, my first thought was a prostitute, but that’s me) and then returning to those flowers from the beginning, but this time leading to the moon. Honestly, I just think this is a creative way to describe night from the perspective of a god/the universe. Hiding the sun from the humans, bringing out the moon, giving them time to sleep and rest, have ‘fun’ in the night, and then repeating the process over and over again.

Leave a comment

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started