Out Of The Blue: If everything happens that can't be done

If everything happens that can’t be done - (... with a line by line analysis)

If everything happens that can’t be done

… this may appear a contradiction. What is the poet saying? An explanation is needed. If everything happens ‘naturally’ (without thought) perhaps.

(and anything’s righter

than books

could plan)

… learning (by books) not needed … living and doing is always better

The stupidest teacher will almost guess

… everybody will intuitively know what to do … except the stupidest teacher

(with a run

skip

around we go yes)

… like the start of an automatic dance of joy

There’s nothing as something as one

… the individual rules supreme … knows best … perhaps I should say the one and only one! … and one is the connecting word to the next stanza

One hasn’t a why or because or although

Defining one … one just exists without asking questions … needs no qualification

(and buds know better

than books

don’t grow)

… books are dead things … compared to life (buds that grow)

One’s anything old being everything new

… every thing is a singularity (has a oneness) … whether it is old or new

(with a what

which

around we come who)

… the dance that was started in stanza 1 continues … what fun

One’s everyanyhing so

… emphasis on the properties of one … connecting word to the next stanza is so

So world is a leaf so tree is a bough

… there is a whole world in the unity of each object … each object has a whole world to discover

(and birds sing sweeter

than books

tell how)

… books tell while life speaks as in the voice of a bird

So here is away and your is a my

… everything ‘distant’ is incorporated in the unity of the now which is happening

(with a down

around again fly)

… the dance continues in merry joy abandon

Forever was never till now

… now is the eternity of the moment

Now I love you and you love me

… connectivity between one and another is love
(and books are shuter

than books

can be)

… books are really inadequate compared to love, they are really closed shut … shuter than ever in the light of love … shuter … the creation of a new verb

And deep in the high that does nothing but fall

… a picture of love ever descending from the heights (heaven)

(with a shout

each

around we go all)

… the dance is really taking off … with love now in the movement

There’s somebody calling who’s we

… connectivity of one and one = we … and we has power (with love inherent)

We’re anything brighter than even the sun

... we (love), movement (life) … how can this be defined (brighter than the brightest)

(we’re everything greater

than books

might mean)

... certainly greater than anything that a book can give

We’re everyanything more than believe

… love (life) … beyond anything we could believe … beyond imagination

(with a spin

leap

alive we’re alive)

… the dance reaches a peak of joyous activity

We’re wonderful one times one

… we are ourselves complete, undiminished … 1 to the power n is 1 … rejoice in our oneness … compare with the last line of the first stanza.

E. E. Cummings

Looking at the poem structure and design …

Five stanzas of 9 lines … the last word of the stanza becomes the first word of the next … the bracketed components form a two way linked undercurrent … the first of these in each stanza relates to books/learning/instruction … the second bracketed component relates to life and living in the moment in the form of a dance … words that can almost be sung … excellent rhyme and rhythm throughout.

(Note ... the word shuter (Stanza 4)… the degree of shutness … books are really shut tight ... that is in relation to life itself.)