reflection

Mrs. Stapleton was my high school English teacher. I had the privilege of being her student sophomore, junior, and senior years. She was a brilliant woman, so well-versed and well-traveled. She brought the world to her classroom through literature, plays, poetry, and personal experiences shared openly and graciously. Her legacy will be with me forever. A prime example...

As my senses explore the Fall season and I witness for the first time the true stages of Autumn, I cannot help but recall one of my favorite poems that Mrs. Stapleton selected for us to analyze. The poet, E.E. Cummings, is a master at using form to create deeper meaning in his poetry...if you are clever enough to figure it out. The following poem, so short and concise, actually carries profound meaning thanks to its simplicity and form. Take a look:



l(a
le
af
fa
ll
s)
one
l
iness

--e.e.cummings

I saw one lonely leaf on a tree limb the other day. One leaf, abandoned by all others. This poem came to mind. If you read everything between the parenthesis, you read "a leaf falls." The rest spells "loneliness." The form is genious because it gives you a sense of falling, motion, and finality. He even uses lots of l's and f's to lengthen the poem, making it longer...all leading downward.

Mrs. Stapleton taught us to read it as "a leaf falls...loneliness." However, after I saw that poor leaf, all alone on the branch, I considered for the first time ever that the poem could read, "loneliness...a leaf falls." Abandoned by all others, why would that leaf want to hang on...alone? At least once a leaf falls, it is again amongst other leaves, so no longer alone. The loneliness seems to come more from being left behind, thus the reason for the fall. Maybe Cummings wanted the parenthesis to be an afterthought...or maybe he put it in parenthesis so it would stand out. I don't know. I don't think it matters.


I'm just so glad I'm not alone in this world. I'm so glad I do not have to suffer the fate of that poor little leaf in the poem. Aren't you?