POEM OF THE DAY -- "Father Dear" by E E Cummings

E.E. Cummings is well recognized as one of the most influential and popular poets of the 20th Century.  His body of work encompasses more than 2900 poems, 2 Novels, four plays and several essays, as well as numerous drawings and paintings.  Despite his first novel being critically acclaimed by such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, it's his poetry and quotes which live on in infamy and popularity.

Cummings' work is most recognized by his inventive use of punctuation, grammar and syntax, as well as the first poet to experiment and perfect the actual placement and appearance of the words upon the page.  This actually became evident even at the remarkable age of 6 years old, in which what many believe was his very first poem, written to his father.

The picture on the right is of a young Cummings with his father and sister on a hammock...

It's actually remarkable that this poem was preserved or discovered!

Enjoy this precursor of things to come:


FATHER DEAR 

By EE Cummings (age 6)

FATHER DEAR. BE, YOUR FATHER-GOOD AND GOOD,

HE IS GOOD NOW, IT IS NOT GOOD TO SEE IT RAIN,

FATHER DEAR IS, IT, DEAR, NO FATHER DEAR,

LOVE, YOU DEAR,

ESTLIN