by Charles Henderson

Created on: February 13, 2007   Last Updated: January 08, 2008

Reversing Polarity in E. E. Cummings' Poem "In Just"
E. E. Cummings' poem "In Just," with its imagery of balloons, mud puddles, and outdoor games, has been heralded as a celebration of the cycle of life viewed from the perspective of children enjoying the glories of springtime. It is possible, however, that the poem is anything but a tribute to childhood playing after winter. The poles are exactly reversed exposing "In Just" as a lamentation about the loss of innocent, joyful play as one matures. Cummings, in his inimitable and impish way, has cleverly disguised his message with images that contrast starkly against their surface level meaning.

The title-word "Just" can be used in a variety of contexts. Stemming from the old word "joust," as in combat, it has meaning as both adjective and adverb. As an adjective, it can be honorable, fair, righteous, or suitable. As an adverb, it can imply "only a moment ago," or "just down the road. Cummings, in puckish fashion, fabricates an ambiguous foundation of multiple meanings to engage the reader in a quandary.
"Eddieandbill" and "bettyandisbel" all came running or dancing from childhood activities to follow the balloon man. Whereas the poem begins with "In just spring," Cummings now says "it's spring." Something has changed, and the use of "just" is crucial. The first references seems to fix the occurrences at a point of time, perhaps the present, while the next hints that time is again moving but in a significant way. To clearly illustrate his intentions, Cummings employs incorrect grammar usage. As a participle, proper usage should be "have come," or the past tense "came." But he says "come" implying the meaning "to issue forth" rather than as a demarcation of past or present time. The children have left an era of childhood, as opposed to temporarily ceasing their games.
A change in the final spelling of "balloonMan" is another indication of Cummings' real theme. Here "Man" is capitalized to clearly signal that the poem is speaking about adulthood
The poem's written structure also provides some information. The first two times the balloon man whistles "far and wee," the words remain on one line; but at the end of the poem, these words are presented on separate lines as if to show that they are drifting out of the poem. Effectively, the sound of the whistle is lost.

Cummings' real meaning requires close examination of the descriptions of the "balloonman" who is portrayed three times in varying images. He becomes a unifying

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