in fondness for e. e. cummings

Once upon a never,

a he or a she

lived once in a city

(or a town).

The beginning of

many autumns passed

ahead or behind

him or her.

He or she

grew up to be

a younger, older nobody.

Somebodies lived a death

and anybody noticed

that he or she died a life.

There was always

something the same

in what a nobody didn’t do.

And under his feet

the anybodies looked,

and nobody cared

when he flew.

Except,

a she or a he

who died a life

(the same as

he or she).

But that was long ago,

or tomorrow

for all the anybodies know.

Molly Walker 1