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 (like a you or a me)

it's always ourselves we find in the sea

Edward Estlin Cummings (known better as E.E. Cummings) was an American poet who died in 1962. He wrote over two thousand poems during his lifetime, as well as novels, plays, and essays. Cummings is best remembered for breaking the established rules of writing in his poetry: he often didn't follow punctuation rules or use correct spelling in his poems. This became his signature style and made his poetry immediately recognisable to anyone who came across it.

Although his poems are often short, they have many layers of meaning in them. They may be telling one kind of story on the surface, but if you look closely and read carefully, you can uncover other stories too!

1. stranded: unable to go somewhere
2. languid: not stiff, flowing with ease