i had an uncle named
Sol who was a born failure and
nearly everybody said he should have gone
into vaudeville perhaps because my Uncle Sol could
sing McCann He Was A Diver on Xmas Eve like Hell Itself which
may or may not account for the fact that my Uncle
Sol indulged in that possibly most inexcusable
of all to use a highfalootin phrase
luxuries that is or to
wit farming and be
it needlessly
added
my Uncle Sol's farm
failed because the chickens
ate the vegetables so
my Uncle Sol had a
chicken farm till the
skunks ate the chickens when
my Uncle Sol
had a skunk farm but
the skunks caught cold and
died so
my Uncle Sol imitated the
skunks in a subtle manner
or by drowning himself in the watertank
but somebody who'd given my Unde Sol a Victor
Victrola and records while he lived presented to
him upon the auspicious occasion of his decease a
scrumptious not to mention splendiferous funeral with
tall boys in black gloves and flowers and everything and
i remember we all cried like the Missouri
when my Uncle Sol's coffin lurched because
somebody pressed a button
(and down went
my Uncle
Sol
and started a worm farm)
-E. E. Cummings
I found this poem among those recommended by my teacher. Looking at it, I had difficulty understanding what it meant, until I worked my way around the enjambment, and I finally comprehended.
This poem describes how the poet's Uncle Sol managed to fail in every single one of his ventures, yet finally succeeding after he died. Uncle Sol seems to be a desperate character, trying to adapt to the circumstances as best he can, and getting frustrated with failure each time; when a vegetable farm does not work, he tries a chicken farm, then a skunk farm, then killing himself when nothing works out. However, Uncle Sol's body finally succeeds in "making a worm farm". The poem's underlying theme seems to be that eventually, everyone will succeed in something.
I found this poem's enjambment to be... a nightmare to interpret around. The enjambment doesn't restrict itself to pertaining to a specific sentence; it's not uncommon with this poem to find two phrases both part of the same line. It meant that isolating one pre-enjambment sentence or phrase was incredibly difficult for me. Eventually, I was able to work my way around, and figure out where the phrases start and end.
The enjambment in this Nobody Loses All The Time is even more confusing to me, when the enjambment appears to serve no particular purpose, other than to make it a poem. The intervals of enjambment seem highly random; no rhyme scheme is discernible, and the length of the lines varies greatly.
I found this poem amusing and entertaining, albeit confusing and frustrating to comprehend at times.
that was some 2020 vision
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