i like my body when it is with your - E.E. Cummings

Part 1:
After reading the poems assigned for Friday's class, I had a tough time deciding which poem I wanted to write a blog for. I decided between the poem by Robert Frost titled, "Out, Out--" and "i like my body when it is with your" written by E.E. Cummings. I have the greatest understanding of these two poems, so I picked between them. Apparently all the pieces in this collection of poems are "sexy," but I went for the sexiest one of all. I love how E.E. Cummings wrote this borderline pornographic poem, and I must say it was the only one to capture my undivided attention. I chose this dirty poem, since I'm not sure that many of the other students would comment on it in fear of being considered perverted. I thought, "Why not?" I feel this poem is so ridiculously obscene that I couldn't pass it up.

Part 2:
E.E. Cummings created his poetry by using a unique format of line structure. The formation of his poetry gives emphasis to the meaning that he's attempting to get across to the reader. The poem titled, "i like my body when it is with your," has sentences separated by more than one space after the periods or commas, while some words don't leave any space between the commas. This larger spacing technique forces the reader to take a longer pause after each sentence or line. The poem is read more sensually and more direct when each sentence is read individually. For example, lines 4 and 5 are read with more passion and the distance between the phases place more emphasis on meaning of the words. Instead of line 4 being read simply, without pause, "i like your body. i like what it does," and line 5, "i like its hows. i like to feel the spine," the distance between the phrases gives added meaning due to punctuation.
On the other hand, the crowded words are read in a jumbled manner or quicker pace which adds to the meaning of the poem in a different sense. Lines 10 and 11 use this technique. The commas don't make much grammatical sense in the spots they are placed, but they allow the lines to flow much better than if they weren't there. A slight pause hints that the reader is out of breath and possibly panting which makes the words of the poem come to life.
Also the lines end with certain words that make the sentences seem even more bold. After reading the first line of the poem, the reader might think, "What is it that you like?" The reader is excited and interested to find out about the speaker and his/her likes. The second line finishes the thought and the reader's satisfied to have learned this fact. Lines 8 and 9 are written the way they are for that same purpose. Line 8 leads up to something that the speaker likes to do over and over again. This act is revealed in the next line and gives the reader more satisfaction.
The pronoun "I" is never capitalized in this poem, and it is always followed by the word "like." The author does this to make the poem a little less structured. Since the content of the poem is sexual and dirty, the format of the lines should be the same way. A clean, put together poem would not match up with its raunchy context, so I believe the a messy structure suits it more appropriately. The strange spacing between words goes along with this perspective since it does not make the poem grammatically correct.
The line space between lines 12, 13, and 14 are also unique to this poem. E.E. Cummings uses this technique for similar reasons he puts gaps between sentences. When the lines stand alone, the reader reads them more carefully which allows the reader to better understand what the words mean. These lines end the poem and therefore, their meaning is the most important.
The text of E.E. Cummings' poem "i like my body when it is with your" describes a vivid, detailed description of sexual acts between two people. I interpreted this poem as the speaker being female and her partner is male. Throughout the poem, this woman is describing what she likes about her lovers body, how it feels, and how it makes her feel. She kisses her man all over and makes him tremble which is a reference to his climax. She does this by kissing him and "stroking" him. Obviously, this poem is about an intimate situation between two people, and the text and format further emphasize and highlight the most intimate moments.