Short Poem Saturday – A Politician – Cummings

APolitician_CummingsE.E. Cummings’ outspoken and often contrarian political views got him into trouble on several occasions during his life – he was even accused of being a spy in France during WWI. His love poetry has had enduring popular appeal – I personally have been to two weddings where his poem [I carry your heart] has been read – but his satirical and political poetry, while perhaps lesser known, make up another major theme in his work. This epigram is a small salty taste of it – and no matter your political persuasion, it is perhaps a feeling we have all had at one point! Drawing (ink on paper) and composition by me. Have a great weekend!

19 comments

  7. Very nicely done. All those scales!

    I love Cummings’ work — the standards, of course, but also the “deep cuts” that generally don’t see anthologies. My favorite for its power to still stun me is “i sing of Olaf glad and big“. Advance warning: Between language and the events it describes, it’s probably not for everyone.

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    1. Thank you! (and thank you for noticing the scales! That was one whole evening of work!)

      That poem – wow! Cummings was a conscientious objector during WWI and wound up in the ambulance services in France. It was here that he was accused of being a spy for his antiwar writings and sent to a detention camp. I am sure that a political detention camp in WWI was not a kind and gentle place to be. I am sure that at least some of this poem was based on events he saw, experienced, or heard about. Incredibly powerful.

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