Gary Witt (12/12/2006 10:17:00 AM)
Probably one of Cummings’ most accessible poems.
Buffalo Bill Cody died in 1917 when Cummings was perhaps 23 or 24 years old and probably driving an ambulance in France. This poem was first published in 1923. At the time of his death, Cody was heavily in debt, so the word “defunct” has a double meaning.
I love the voice that Cummings uses here, and the changes he goes through: he starts out factual (“Buffalo Bill’s defunct”) , then moves to nostalgic, with an innocent enthusiasm (“onetwothreefourfive…justlikethat”) , and closes with understated bitterness, and that jaw-dropping last sentence, “what I want to know is/how do you like your blue-eyed boy/Mister Death.” Spoken with the courage of a child.
I’m uncertain whether Cummings ever saw Cody’s Wild West Show, but it’s entirely possible. The timing and geography would both certainly fit. In fact, that phrase, “onetwothreefourfive” tells me Cummings did indeed see Cody’s show, and loved it. We don’t have a lot of heroes these days, and we’re certainly out of Buffalo Bills. So I wonder how much longer this poem will be studied, without footnotes. In short, how long will it remain accessible?
For further info on Cody, visit www.buffalobill.org. |
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