in Just-

in Just-
spring when the world is mud-
luscious the little lame baloonman


whistles far and wee


and eddyandbill come
running from marbles and
piracies and it's
spring


when the world is puddle-wonderful


the queer
old baloonman whistles
far and wee
and bettyandisbel come dancing


from hop-scotch and jump-rope and


it's
spring
and
the
goat-footed


baloonMan whistles
far
and
wee

- For some reason I can't locate the date of composition for this poem! This one is characteristic of e e cummings style and his use of compound words. I think cummings is a master of sound (if you need a good example try 'anyone lived in a pretty how town' which sounds beautiful musically but makes no sense to me) and uses run on lines to great advantage. I love sending this one to friends when its going to be spring because it reflects a little of the childlike anticipation everyone feels. I can't reflect how it looks on the page that clearly here (especially the last three words which actually get smaller and further apart) but its a great example also for the visual effect of text and the use of capitalisation etc.