E.E. Cummings

complete poems

1904-1962

95 poems 1958

1 l(a

2 to stand(alone)in some

3 now air is air and thing is thing :no bliss

4 this man’s heart

5 crazy jay blue)

6 spirit colossal

7 because you take life in your stride(instead

8 dominie has

9 both eaching come ghostlike

10 maggie and milly and molly and may

                      10 

maggie and milly and molly and may

went down to the beach(to play one day)

and maggie discovered a shell that sang

so sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and

milly befriended a stranded star

whose rays five languid fingers were;

and molly was chased by a horrible thing

which raced sideways while blowing bubbles:and

may came home with a smooth round stone

as small as a world and as large as alone.

For whatever we lose(Iike a you or a me)

it’s always ourselves we find in the sea

         10

maggie y milly y molly y may

bajaron a la playa(a jugar un día)

y maggie descubrió una concha que cantaba

tan dulcemente que no podía recordar sus problemas, y

mili se hizo amiga de una estrella varada

cuyos rayos eran cinco dedos lánguidos;

y molly fue perseguida por una cosa horrible

que corría de lado mientras soplaba burbujas: y

may volvió a casa con una suave piedra redonda

tan pequeña como un mundo y tan grande como la soledad.

Porque lo que sea que perdamos(como un tú o un yo)

es siempre a nosotros mismos que encontramos en el mar