my course, it has good poems

I'm taking a linguistics course on poetic meter as it relates to linguistic constraints of stress. Apparently this includes rhymes and phonology, especially the study of slant rhymes, alliteration and other things. (My professor revealed today his motivation for studying poetry, which is that it organizes linguistic features and thus makes them easier to study. I find this intriguing. I wonder how many linguists would say that it merely skews the data and dismiss it--I think I'd take his side in such an argument.)

Anyway, I really like this poem by E.E. Cummings that he showed us. I haven't finished reading it, because I have to read each stanza about six times even to begin to grasp the meaning. Also there is math and diversions. But as I get it, it begins to draw together into a very pretty picture. I haven't yet figured out how deep the picture actually is.

If you don't click the link, at least read this:

"this motionless forgetful where
turned at his glance to shining here;
that if(so timid air is firm)
under his eyes would stir and squirm"

even though it doesn't have much of the alliteration of the rest of the poem.