a small reminder, written on floating leaves …

A // W // F

aleaffalls

This time of year, I can’t watch a single leaf spiraling to earth without thinking of a certain special poem by E.E. Cummings …

Strung together like a necklace of cranberries on a thread, his letters make up what I consider to be the most exquisite little poem I’ve ever encountered:

l(a

le

af

fa

ll

s)

one

l

iness

Oh, friends … may we view each fluttering leaf as a reminder that there are a great many people in our lives who may be lonelier than we know.

Let’s love them well, and invite a few cold souls into the firelight of our winter hearths. ❤

l(a

 

 

37 Comments

  2. Poetry is still a rather unexplored world to me, only for the past 2 years or so I have been reading some. I kind of like the idea that there is a world of treasures out there waiting for me. E E Cummings, I will remember him now 🙂 Anyone else you’d like to recommend to a newbie like me?

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    1. I absolutely LOVE Cummings … So playful.

      If you like what I do here, you may also love Mary Oliver, who has wide mainstream appeal, even among people who don’t read much poetry. Her work is a constant display of joy in the natural world, which of course I appreciate.

      Poetry is so personal and so intuitively experienced that it’s hard to provide recommendations. However, I’d be much remiss if I didn’t point you toward the important work of two literary heavyweights, Sylvia Plath and Adrienne Rich.

      Happy reading!! 🙂

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      1. Great! Thanks so much, I’ll look them up. I’ve been reading some of Swedish Nobel prize winner Tomas Tranströmer who sadly past away this year. Another Swedish poet I love is Karin Boye. There might be some translations but I guess they always lose some of their sparkle in the process.

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        1. Sadly, that’s often true. Every once in awhile you run across a truly inspired translator who can keep the magic fully intact, or even expand on it … But I do think that’s rare.

          Feel free to drop by and leave me any recommendations of any English-language poets you discover who you love. Always on the lookout!! 🙂

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          1. I’ve noticed when I find a poem I really like, it’s an even fuller experience than a painting is. I’m an extremely visual person, so I find that fascinating. Tranströmers writings are often very “visual”. If you can say that about a poem 😀

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    2. Hi Heidi… my name is Tabby…

      e.e. cummings writes his name and poems in all lower case letters. He was the first rule breaker on this aesthetic (I think).

      anyhow, hope it was ok to interrupt you and the author with that! 🙂

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      1. YES!! I love that you brought this up, Tabby … It’s one of my favorite E.E. Cummings / e.e. cummings controversies.

        There are actually quite a number of strong feelings circulating out there about whether or not Cummings/cummings preferred his name in all lowercase letters, or whether this was an editorial decision he merely tolerated. There are whole discussion boards on the topic, and sometimes things get pretty heated. Just google “e.e. cummings capitalization” and have a good laugh. 🙂 Snobby academic articles on the subject have become legendary… just one more part of the cummings lore.

        Personally, I like to switch between the two styles, in the same way that I do with my own name (sometimes I’m “Ashley Wilson,” my maiden name; sometimes I’m “Ashley Fellers;” sometimes I’m “A. Wilson Fellers,” and with people who know me best, I use my long-lost middle initial and just call myself “AK.”)

        To me, the inconsistency only furthers the sense of mystery, enigma and slippery dreaminess that surrounds cummings and his work. The guy just can’t be pinned down. 😉

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        1. Oh, I just had a small exposure to one book of his poems and only saw it lower case letters, so I guess I’m way behind on the hub bub… and I only read him because of a guy who was attempting to woo me… he gave me the book and marked one he particularly liked about love crumbs…

          Sounds like the poetry snobby-critics are having some harmless fun. 🙂

          Thanks for the insights.

          Enigmas are most awesome of all, yes.

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            1. Well, I wasn’t quite wooed by e.e. so that’s probably why I remain in my remedial learning phase of his works but I appreciated that poetry was being attempted as wooing… and I like that you’re teaching about it. 🙂

              Thanks Ashley.

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              1. Tabby, I love the way you describe things … You made me smile.

                I’m always amazed by how personal poetry is… Poems are, in so many ways, like lovers, and one that makes me feel breathless and alive might be a total dud for someone else. 😉

                And I love that, actually… It reminds me that a poem is a deeply organic, soulful thing, and that a person’s reaction to it cannot be calculated or predicted or pinned down to mere mathematics…

                Isn’t that magical? 🙂

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              2. Yepper, Ashley. Well said. 🙂

                I was recently turned on to Alice Notely’s work. “Culture of One” is an epic-poem or novel in poem form…
                And I haven’t embarked on “Reason and Other Women” but I have read a few poems from it that floored me… she is a “rule breaking” working, living poet that is amazing and magical among us. Maybe you know of her already?

                Anyhow, thanks for the mutual smiling… You’re sparkling this morning. 🙂
                xo,
                tabs

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              3. I really love work that blurs the divide a bit between poetry and prose … Sounds like Culture of One may be right up my alley. Thank you for the recommendation!! 🙂

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        1. Hello again Heidi,

          Well, I’ve now been enlightened to a big debate about ee compared to EE… so, eeeek! 🙂

          You can see what Ashely wrote me and see how very uninformed I was on the man. I’m glad you commented here so we could both learn something new!

          peace.

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  5. This is such a simple and beautiful reminder to me to try to look deeper, to see past myself, my own distractions/anxieties/judgments/needs/insecurities and really try to SEE another person. Even in that effort, knowing that I can never fully understand the depth and complexity of the circumstances of someone else.

    As Thanksgiving approaches (and with it, the one year anniversary of the most transformative experience of my life – which didn’t look or feel so stellar while I was actually inside it), I am trying to ground myself again in what I value most. I am so grateful that I found your blog! Through your writing, it’s as if I am chipping away at the crust that has sort of formed like a protective layer around my heart and soul since I left my treatment program last January. Thank you!

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    1. Lulu, your comment meant so much to me … Thank you.

      Congratulations on that one-year anniversary… It’s crazy how some of the hardest experiences become the most important, isn’t it?

      So glad you’re here. ❤

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          1. Thank you my dear. thing is I absolutely hate taking to bed. I almost never do. It’s like a sign of weakness to me. But time, the fever really bugged me. Yet, I’m up and writing at my desk. Can’t spend all day in bed can one? And dreaming can be done all the time right? Be good And thank you.

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