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1 " in Just-spring when the world is mud-luscious the littlelame balloonmanwhistles far and weeand eddieandbill comerunning from marbles andpiracies and it'sspringwhen the world is puddle-wonderfulthe queerold balloonman whistlesfar and weeand bettyandisbel come dancingfrom hop-scotch and jump-rope andit'sspringand the goat-footedballoonMan whistlesfarandwee "
― E.E. Cummings , Tulips & Chimneys
2 " Now is the time when all occasional things close into silence. "
3 " be with me in the sacred witchery of almostness which May makes follow soon on the sweet heels of passed afterday, clothe thy soul’s coming merely "
4 " never boast your dead beauties, mine being unto me sweeter (of whose shy delicious glance things which never more shall be, perfect things of faerie, are intense inhabitants; in whose warm superlative body do distinctly live all sweet cities passed away— in her flesh at break of day are the smells of Nineveh, in her eyes when day is gone are the cries of Babylon.) "
5 " alas we were chaste on earth we ghosts "
6 " singing (though love be a day) for which girl art thou flowers bringing? "
7 " And still the mad magnificent herald Spring assembles beauty from forgetfulness with the wild trump of April:witchery of sound and odour drives the wingless thing man forth into bright air,for now the red leaps in the maple’s cheek,and suddenly by shining hordes in sweet unserious dress ascends the golden crocus from the dead. "
8 " Doll’s boy’s asleepunder a stilehe sees eight and twentyladies in a linethe first ladysays to nine ladieshis lips drink waterbut his heart drinks winethe tenth ladysays to nine ladiesthey must chain his footfor his wrist ’s too finethe nineteenthsays to nine ladiesyou take his mouthfor his eyes are mine.Doll’s boy’s asleepunder the stilefor every mile the feet gothe heart goes nineE.E. Cummings, “Doll’s Boy’s Asleep,” was first published as “Songs V,” Tulips and Chimneys. (Liveright; 2nd Revised ed. edition (August 17, 1996) Originally published 1923. "
9 " (whiter than lilies which are born and cease for being whiter than this world) "
10 " O still miraculous May!O shining girl of time untarnished!O small intimate gently primeval hands,frivolous feet divine!O singular and breathless pearl! O indefinable frail ultimate pose! O visible beatitude sweet sweet intolerable!silence immaculate of god’s evasive audible great rose! "
11 " (haste ere some thrush with silver several tears complete the perfumed paraphrase of death) "
12 " The Sky A Silver"the sky a silverdissonance by the correctfingers of Aprilresolved into aclutter of trite jewelsnow like a moth with stumblingwings flutters and flops along thegrass collides with trees andhouses and finally,butts into the river "
13 " (whose hand my folded soul shall know while on faint hills do frailly go The peaceful terrors of the snow, and before your dead face which sleeps,a dream shall pass) "
