ee cummings, "the boys i mean are not refined"

[m-m-m-mother.livejournal.com]

the boys i mean are not refined
they go with girls who buck and bite
they do not give a fuck for luck
they hump them thirteen times a night

one hangs a hat upon her tit
one carves a cross on her behind
they do not give a shit for wit
the boys i mean are not refined

they come with girls who bite and buck
who cannot read and cannot write
who laugh like they would fall apart
and masturbate with dynamite

the boys i mean are not refined
they cannot chat of that and this
they do not give a fart for art
they kill like you would take a piss

they speak whatever's on their mind
they do whatever's in their pants
the boys i mean are not refined
they shake the mountains when they dance

Comments

[persephone-blue.livejournal.com]

Okay?

[m-m-m-mother.livejournal.com]

Just sayin'.

[persephone-blue.livejournal.com]

I'm not attacking you and I'm not attacking the fact you posted him.

I was talking to an assistant publisher of a small, independent publication a few days ago. I was looking for an internship.

I asked what kind of poetry they published alongside their books. She said, "We don't publish poetry. It doesn't sell."

Most people are more than hesitant to read or buy books of poetry published in the last five years. They are more likely to buy it if they're familiar with the work and have seen it elsewhere, like in school or in, well, a cool LJ community.

ee cummings is great. A lot of people adore him. I like him a lot, too. I think that this community could benefit from more posts of lesser known great poets, though.

[m-m-m-mother.livejournal.com]

Nah, I understand, not trying to get defensive.

I agree, but I'm a long-time lover of Cummings and that poem caught my fancy at the time. I haven't been in this community long and don't have a fantastic feel for who's famous enough to not post a household name, but I wanted to contribute because this particular piece is great to me.

Also, I'm not discouraging the posting of lesser known poets--I always love to read something new that I'm not familiar with--I just wasn't taking part in it at this particular time is all.

[adesina.livejournal.com]

I've been around this community for a while, and I don't recall ever seeing this cummings poem. I love it, and I'm glad the original poster posted it.

[m-m-m-mother.livejournal.com]

Hey, glad you liked it. :) One of my favorites.

[persephone-blue.livejournal.com]

Dude. I said the post was fine. I just think there's a lot of cummings' poetry here. Classic and popular poets are awesome, but I've seen a lot of him.