Grammar can’t kiss you goodnight—and life doesn’t fit neatly between parentheses.
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 the 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
Reflection:
Cummings tosses out the rulebook—literally—arguing that love, emotion, and surrender are more vital than logic or structure. His poem invites us to live and love boldly, even foolishly, because wisdom without passion is hollow. In a world obsessed with control and correctness, he reminds us that the flutter of an eyelid can speak more truth than a thousand well-ordered sentences.
❓ Three Questions for Deeper Reflection:
- What does this poem suggest about the limits of intellect when it comes to love or connection?
- Have you ever been held back by overthinking when your heart was trying to lead?
- What does it mean to “wholly kiss” someone—and how is that different from loving with restraint?
