The Project Gutenberg eBook of Puella mea This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook. Title: Puella mea Author: E. E. Cummings Artist: Paul Klee Amedeo Modigliani Pablo Picasso Kurt Roesch Release date: February 12, 2022 [eBook #67384] Language: English Original publication: United States: The Golden Eagle Press Credits: Charlene Taylor, Linda Cantoni, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive) *** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUELLA MEA *** [Transcriber's Note: Idiosyncrasies of spelling, punctuation, and capitalization have been retained as they appear in the original.] [Illustration] PUELLA MEA BY E.E. CUMMINGS [Illustration] COPYRIGHT MCMXXIII BY E E CUMMINGS PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA [Illustration] Harun Omar and Master Hafiz keep your dead beautiful ladies. Mine is a little lovelier than any of your ladies were. In her perfectest array my lady, moving in the day, is a little stranger thing than crisp Sheba with her king in the morning wandering. [Illustration] Through the young and awkward hours my lady perfectly moving, through the new world scarce astir my fragile lady wandering in whose perishable poise is the mystery of Spring (with her beauty more than snow dexterous and fugitive my very frail lady drifting distinctly, moving like a myth in the uncertain morning, with April feet like sudden flowers [Illustration] [Illustration] and all her body filled with May) —moving in the unskilful day my lady utterly alive, to me is a more curious thing (a thing more nimble and complete) than ever to Judea’s king were the shapely sharp cunning and withal delirious feet of the Princess Salome carefully dancing in the noise of Herod’s silence, long ago. If she a little turn her head i know that i am wholly dead: nor ever did on such a throat the lips of Tristram slowly dote, La beale Isoud whose leman was. And if my lady look at me (with her eyes which like two elves incredibly amuse themselves) with a look of færie, perhaps a little suddenly (as sometimes the improbable beauty of my lady will) —at her glance my spirit shies rearing (as in the miracle of a lady who had eyes which the king’s horses might not kill.) [Illustration] But should my lady smile, it were a flower of so pure surprise (it were so very new a flower, a flower so frail, a flower so glad) as trembling used to yield with dew when the world was young and new (a flower such as the world had in Springtime when the world was mad and Launcelot spoke to Guenever, a flower which most heavy hung with silence when the world was young and Diarmid looked in Grania’s eyes.) But should my lady’s beauty play at not speaking (somtimes as it will) the silence of her face doth immediately make in my heart so great a noise, as in the sharp and thirsty blood of Paris would not all the Troys of Helen’s beauty: never did Lord Jason (in impossible things victorious impossibly) so wholly burn, to undertake Medea’s rescuing eyes; nor he when swooned the white egyptian day who with Egypt’s body lay. [Illustration] Lovely as those ladies were mine is a little lovelier. And if she speak in her frail way, it is wholly to bewitch my smallest thought with a most swift radiance wherein slowly drift murmurous things divinely bright; it is foolingly to smite my spirit with the lithe free twitch of scintillant space, with the cool writhe of gloom truly which syncopate some sunbeam’s skilful fingerings; it is utterly to lull with foliate inscrutable sweetness my soul obedient; it is to stroke my being with numbing forests frolicsome, fleetly mystical, aroam with keen creatures of idiom (beings alert and innocent very deftly upon which indolent miracles impinge) —it is distinctly to confute my reason with the deep caress of every most shy thing and mute, it is to quell me with the twinge of all living intense things. Never my soul so fortunate is (past the luck of all dead men and loving) as invisibly when upon her palpable solitude a furtive occult fragrance steals, a gesture of immaculate perfume—whereby (with fear aglow) my soul is wont wholly to know the poignant instantaneous fern whose scrupulous enchanted fronds toward all things intrinsic yearn, the immanent subliminal fern of her delicious voice (of her voice which always dwells beside the vivid magical impetuous and utter ponds of dream; and very secret food its leaves inimitable find beyond the white authentic springs, beyond the sweet instinctive wells, which make to flourish the minute spontaneous meadow of her mind) —the vocal fern, always which feels the keen ecstatic actual tread (and thereto perfectly responds) of all things exquisite and dead, all living things and beautiful. [Illustration] [Illustration] (Caliph and king their ladies had to love them and to make them glad, when the world was young and mad, in the city of Bagdad— mine is a little lovelier than any of those ladies were.) Her body is most beauteous, being for all things amorous fashioned very curiously of roses and of ivory. The immaculate crisp head is such as only certain dead and careful painters love to use for their youngest angels (whose praising bodies in a row between slow glories fleetly go.) Upon a keen and lovely throat the strangeness of her face doth float, which in eyes and lips consists —always upon the mouth there trysts curvingly a fragile smile which like a flower lieth (while within the eyes is dimly heard a wistful and precarious bird.) [Illustration] Springing from fragrant shoulders small, ardent, and perfectly withal smooth to stroke and sweet to see as a supple and young tree, her slim lascivious arms alight in skilful wrists which hint at flight —my lady’s very singular and slenderest hands moreover are (which as lilies smile and quail) of all things perfect the most frail. [Illustration] [Illustration] (Whoso rideth in the tale of Chaucer knoweth many a pair of companions blithe and fair; who to walk with Master Gower in Confessio doth prefer shall not lack for beauty there, nor he that will amaying go with my lord Boccaccio— whoso knocketh at the door of Marie and of Maleore findeth of ladies goodly store whose beauty did in nothing err. If to me there shall appear than a rose more sweetly known, more silently than a flower, my lady naked in her hair— i for those ladies nothing care nor any lady dead and gone.) Each tapering breast is firm and smooth that in a lovely fashion doth from my lady’s body grow; as morning may a lily know, her petaled flesh doth entertain the adroit blood’s mysterious skein (but like some passionate earlier flower, the snow will oft utter, whereof the year has perfect bliss— for each breast a blossom is, which being a little while caressed its fragrance makes the lover blest.) Her waist is a most tiny hinge of flesh, a winsome thing and strange; apt in my hand warmly to lie it is a throbbing neck whereby to grasp the belly’s ample vase (that urgent urn which doth amass for whoso drinks, a dizzier wine than should the grapes of heaven combine with earth’s madness)—’tis a gate unto a palace intricate (whereof the luscious pillars rise which are her large and shapely thighs) in whose dome the trembling bliss of a kingdom wholly is. Beneath her thighs such legs are seen as were the pride of the world’s queen: each is a verb, miraculous inflected oral devious, beneath the body’s breathing noun (moreover the delicious frown of the grave great sensual knees well might any monarch please.) Each ankle is divinely shy; as if for fear you would espy the little distinct foot (if whose very minuteness doth abuse reason, why then the artificer did most exquisitely err.) [Illustration] When the world was like a song heard behind a golden door, poet and sage and caliph had to love them and to make them glad ladies with lithe eyes and long (when the world was like a flower Omar Hafiz and Harun loved their ladies in the moon) —fashioned very curiously of roses and of ivory if naked she appear to me my flesh is an enchanted tree; with her lips’ most frail parting my body hears the cry of Spring, and with their frailest syllable its leaves go crisp with miracle. [Illustration] [Illustration] Love!—maker of my lady, in that alway beyond this poem or any poem she of whose body words are afraid perfectly beautiful is, forgive these words which i have made. And never boast your dead beauties, you greatest lovers in the world! who with Grania strangely fled, who with Egypt went to bed, whom white-thighed Semiramis put up her mouth to wholly kiss— never boast your dead beauties, mine being unto me sweeter (of whose shy delicious glance things which never more shall be, perfect things of færie, 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.) Diarmid Paris and Solomon, Omar Harun and Master Hafiz, to me your ladies are all one— keep your dead beautiful ladies. [Illustration] Eater of all things lovely—Time! upon whose watering lips the world poises a moment (futile, proud, a costly morsel of sweet tears) gesticulates, and disappears— of all dainties which do crowd gaily upon oblivion sweeter than any there is one; to touch it is the fear of rhyme— in life’s very fragile hour (when the world was like a tale made of laughter and of dew, was a flight, a flower, a flame, was a tendril fleetly curled upon frailness) used to stroll (very slowly) one or two ladies like flowers made, softly used to wholly move slender ladies made of dream (in the lazy world and new sweetly used to laugh and love ladies with crisp eyes and frail, in the city of Bagdad.) Keep your dead beautiful ladies Harun Omar and Master Hafiz. [Illustration] This edition of E.E. Cummings’ Puella Mea with reproductions of drawings and paintings by Klee is made possible through the kind permission of Curt Valentin of Buchholz Gallery. The Modigliani drawing is used by the courtesy of his publishers, in Milan, Italy. For the drawing by Picasso thanks are due to Mary Callery, who consented to its use. Kurt Roesch contributed his drawing which is the only illustration expressly made for this book when it was decided to have work by other modern masters in addition to the one drawing by the author himself, which appears on the first text page of his poem. S.A. JACOBS, THE GOLDEN EAGLE PRESS *** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK PUELLA MEA *** Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will be renamed. Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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