"[since feeling is first]" by E. E. Cummings

Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Make a special gift this National Poetry Month to share poems year-round and help us reach our $100,000 fundraising goal.
April 16, 2022 

[since feeling is first]

E. E. Cummings

since feeling is first
who pays any attention 
to the syntax of things
will never wholly kiss you;

wholly to be a fool
while Spring is in the world

my blood approves,
and kisses are a better fate 
than wisdom
lady i swear by all flowers. Don’t cry
—the best gesture of my brain is less than
your eyelids’ flutter which says

we are for each other: then
laugh, leaning back in my arms
for life’s not a paragraph

And death i think is no parenthesis

This poem is in the public domain. Published in Poem-a-Day on April 16, 2022, by the Academy of American Poets.

Subscribe to the Poem-a-Day Podcast 

  

“[since feeling is first]” appeared in Is 5 (Boni and Liveright, 1926).

E. E. Cummings, born Edward Estlin Cummings on October 14, 1894, was a poet, essayist, novelist, and playwright from the Modernist movement. The author of many collections, including 95 Poems (Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1958), he received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the Academy of American Poets. He died on September 3, 1962.

“Ask Me Why I Love You” by Walter Everette Hawkins
read more
“How Near to Fairyland” by Yone Noguchi
read more

Thanks to Naomi Shihab Nye, author of Cast Away: Poems for Our Time (Greenwillow Books, 2021), who curated Poem-a-Day for this month’s weekdays. Listen to a Q&A about Nye’s curatorial approach and find out more about our guest editors for the year.
Copyright © 2022 The Academy of American Poets, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.

Our mailing address is:
The Academy of American Poets
75 Maiden Lane
St #901
New York, NY 10038

Add us to your address book


View this email in your browser

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.

Older messages

"Mr. Chairman Takes His Leave" by Rosemary Catacalos

Wednesday, April 13, 2022

Whitman, you once told me, is democracy on the page, messy Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Make a special gift this National Poetry Month to share poems year-round and help

We are tethered to something large and ongoing.

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Poem-a-Day is a one-of-a-kind series. It reaches more readers each morning than any other poetry publication. Dear Reader, As you are one of Poem-a-Day's most dedicated readers, I'm writing to

"Mercy" by José Antonio Rodríguez

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

If you could ask the stars, / Those flickers that visit nightly, Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Make a special gift this National Poetry Month to share poems year-round and

"Late Fermata" by Jenny Browne

Monday, April 11, 2022

On what would turn out to be Katie's last good day Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Make a special gift this National Poetry Month to share poems year-round and help us

"The Dark Night (XVIII)" by May Sinclair

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Our love is woven / Of a thousand strands— Facebook Twitter Instagram Poem-a-Day is reader-supported. Make a special gift this National Poetry Month to share poems year-round and help us reach our

You Might Also Like

Magnanimous dictators

Friday, November 8, 2024

It's 1972 and Ennio Flaiano knows he's going to die. He gets his affairs and journals in order and makes one final entry. It's about - of all things - beloved dictators. It's about how

Victoria Beckham & Daughter Harper Wore The Prettiest Matching Looks On The Red Carpet

Friday, November 8, 2024

Like mother like daughter. The Zoe Report Daily The Zoe Report 11.7.2024 Victoria Beckham & Daughter Harper Wore The Prettiest Matching Looks On The Red Carpet (Celebrity) Victoria Beckham &

The Best 7-Minute Workouts

Friday, November 8, 2024

Mens Health Shop logo Torch fat and build muscle in 7 minutes The most efficient exercises for weight loss - Men's Health 7-Minute Workouts for Fat Burn Are you tough enough to handle these 7-

'Theme' Every Work Day for a More Productive Week

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Don't Delete Your X Account (Do This Instead). Every day should have a specific focus when you're working on something big. Not displaying correctly? View this newsletter online. TODAY'S

Selena Gomez’s Cleavage-Baring “Cheugy” Dress Was Dazzling

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Plus, Tyla's tiger print French mani, the 'Golden Bachelor' effect, your horoscope, & more. Nov. 7, 2024 Bustle Daily Gerry Turner, who led the successful first season of 'The

1.5C is dead. The climate fight isn’t.

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Trump's re-election is “the final nail in the coffin” for the Paris Agreement's North Star goal, nine experts told HEATED. But we can still limit the damage. ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

'Say Nothing' Is a Fearless Adaptation of a Remarkable Book

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Today in style, self, culture, and power. The Cut November 7, 2024 TV Say Nothing Is a Fearless Adaptation of a Remarkable Book Missing Derry Girls? Try FX's captivating series about the Troubles

Update from The Weekly Wrap

Thursday, November 7, 2024

*deep breath* ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏

Poems and resources for November

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Curated for Thanksgiving, Native American Heritage Month, and more Facebook Twitter Instagram November 2024 poems to read and share November is Native American Heritage Month. Celebrate with the

Let It Go

Thursday, November 7, 2024

Back at home ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏