The following is my response to an email letter sent to Brian Hance, webmaster of MaydayMystery.org, from Freaks 194 on May 01, 2007
Speekin a poet--tell Bro Thomasson ta look into "All in green my love came riding"
The quote is from a poem "All in green went my love riding" by E.E. Cummings in his book of poetry Tulips and Chimneys (1923). In 1917, several of his poems were previously published in Eight Harvard Poets. A sequal was later published and called Eight More Harvard Poets (1923). The same year, a satire of the aforementioned book was published as: Eight Most Harvard Poets.
Search the Internet, or the libraries, to read about each of the Harvard poets, the editors, and those that wrote introductions to each of the aformentioned books on poetry from Harvard.
All in green went my love riding
by: e.e. cummings
All in green went my love riding
on a great horse of gold
into the silver dawn.
four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
the merry deer ran before.
Fleeter be they than dappled dreams
the swift sweet deer
the red rare deer.
Horn at hip went my love riding
riding the echo down
into the silver dawn.
four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
the level meadows ran before.
Softer be they than slippered sleep
the lean lithe deer
the fleet flown deer.
Four fleet does at a gold valley
the famished arrows sang before.
Bow at belt went my love riding
riding the mountain down into the silver dawn.
four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
the sheer peaks ran before.
Paler be they than daunting death
the sleek slim deer
the tall tense deer.
Four tall stags at a green mountain
the lucky hunter sang before.
All in green went my love riding
on a great horse of gold
into the silver dawn.
four lean hounds crouched low and smiling
my heart fell dead before.
From Tulips and Chimneys, 1923
Does the above poem relate to "The Knight's Tale" by Geoffrey Chaucer? Here is a portion of "The Knight's Tale:"
. . .
Destiny, that Minister-General,
Who executes on earth, over all,
The Providence that God saw long before,
Has such power that though all men swore
The contrary of a thing by yea or nay,
Yet there will come to pass upon a day
What will not happen in a thousand years.
For certainly our appetites down here,
Be they for war, or peace, hate or love,
All are ruled by the vision that’s above.
This will explain why mighty Theseus,
Of hunting is so deeply desirous
And to chase the great stag in May,
That about his bed there dawns no day
When he’s not clad and ready for the ride,
With huntsman, horn, and hounds at his side.
For in his hunting he takes such delight
That it is all his joy and appetite
To be himself the great stag’s bane;
For after Mars he serves Diana’s name.
Clear was the day, as I have told ere this,
And Theseus, full of joy and bliss
With his Hippolyta, the fair queen,
And Emily, clothed all in green,
Off to the hunt went riding royally.
And to the grove that stood close nearby,
In which there was a stag, so it was told,
Duke Theseus the nearest way he rode,
And to the clearing made his way outright,
For thither the stag would take his flight,
And over a brook, and so forth on his way.
. . .
There I saw Actaeon a stag created,
In punishment for seeing Diane naked.
I saw how his hounds Actaeon caught,
And devoured him when they knew him not.
. . .
This goddess high on a stag did sit,
With slender hounds all about her feet,
And underneath her feet there was a moon;
Waxing it was and would be waning soon.
In yellow-green her statue clothed was,
With bow in hand, and arrows in a case,
Her eyes, as she rode, she cast down,
To where Pluto has his dark region.
. . .
Check out this review from "http://mb.sparknotes.com/mb.epl?b=121&m=1220278&t=256428" about the connection between "The Knight's Tale" by Chaucer and "All in green went my love riding" by Cummings.
In poetry as in life I think there is seldom a single "right" explanation. EE Cummings especially likes ambiguity both on the surface and in layers underneath. Another source of meaning in this poem may come from Chaucer's The Knight's Tale. (Cummings referred to Chaucer in other poems. E.g., in My Father Moved Through Dooms of Love, there is a clear reference to the prologue of the Canterbury Tales: "his april touch
drove sleeping selves to swarm their fates
woke dreamers to their ghostly roots". )
The view of Cummings' poem that works best for me is that "my love" means the love that Cummings felt - for a particular woman perhaps, or for a series. The love begins all in green, feeling as if the hunt is "green" symbolizing life and fertility. It passes into the silver and gold symbolizing nobility or chivalry (real or mock) in the pursuit of love. But as other disappointed lovers have found, the exhileration of the hunt can become exhausting, and even deadly, because of shattering disappointments, real or imagined duels with rival lovers, or possibly simply the ultimate futility of carnal love.
Chaucer's The Knight's Tale, like All in Green Went My Love Riding, involves a hunt which turns deadly. There are explicit references to the myth of Actaeon. The maiden, "the lovely Emily," rides along on the hunt, dressed "all in green." The hunters encounter two fugitives who while in prison had both seen and fallen in love with Emily. They are now in the forest fighting to the death for her. These men are perhaps the models for the "stags" encountered at the end of the Cummings poem. Whereas at the beginning of the poem the rider is pursuing "does", he ends by encountering stags and has a deadly clash.
Hear Cumming's poem sung by Joan Baez.
See the following music score by Sam Maurer: "All In Green Went My Love Riding."
The last line in "All in green went my love riding" is also the same last line in "Where's Madge Then," another poem in Tulips and Chimneys:
my heart fell dead before
Take the first letter of each word and add their English gematria value: m(13) + h(8) + f(6) + d(4) + b(2) = 33.
Perhaps it is just mere coincidence that Cummings' last line of his poem references the number 33 in such a fashion. On the other hand, could Cummings be using it as a signature?
The 33rd degree is the highest degree of the Scottish rite of Freemasonry, the Meritorious degree, and the degree of the Illuminati. Study these degrees and research the 33rd Parallel.
Just a side note about the Illuminati, on May 1, 1776 in Bavaria, Adam Weishaupt began the Masters of the Illuminati or the Order of the Illuminati.
By reversing the previously mentioned letters (m, h, f, d, b) to (b, d, f, h, m) a couple interesting facts emerge. First, bdfhm.com used to be a Scottish website that no longer exists. Second, bdfhm relates to music and can represent CHRIST.
There is not much I can tell you about bdfhm.com, but let's see how bdfhm relates to music, then how it relates to CHRIST. Write out the alphabet and highlight the letters bdfhm. Next, rewrite the alphabet directly under the first alphabet, but repeat only the musical notes of a-b-c-d-e-f-g. Highlight the letters bdfaf that come directly under bdfhm. bdfaf is a half-diminished 7th chord with an added 5th (f).
a-b-c-d-e-f-g-h-i-j-k-l-m-n-o-p-q-r-s-t-u-v-w-x-y-z
a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c-d-e
Starting with "b," repeat numbers 1-7 under the two scales of musical notes:
b-c-d-e-f-g-a-b-c-d-e-f-g-a
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-1-2-3-4-5-6-7
As you can see, b-d-f-a-f is a chord starting with the root (1), the third (3), the fifth (5), the seventh (7), and an added fifth (5) notes of the b half-diminished 7th chord. This chord is actually the 7th chord in a series of scale-tone 7th chords from the C Major scale. Thus we have 77 or the number for CHRIST:
C (3) + H (8) + R (18) + I (9) + S (19) + T (20) = 77
See http://www.jazclass.aust.com/scales/scastc.htm#00 for more information about these 7th chords. By the way, if you just play the white keys on the piano using only the 1-3-5-7-5 notes (1-3-5-7 with left hand and the added 5th with the right hand) in a chord, then keep the same chord position with your fingers as you move up and down the keyboard one note at a time. You can make some pretty sounding music. You will be playing a series of Major 7th, Minor 7th, Dominant 7th, and Half-Diminished 7th chords.
Check out the following poem by E.E. Cummings followed by a brief review that comes from http://project1.caryacademy.org/echoes/poet_ee_cummings/samplepoeme.e._cummings.htm.
The following text and syntax is how Cummings wrote his poem:
kumrads die because they’re told)
kumrads die before they’re old
(kumrads aren’t afraid to die
kumrads don’t
and kumrads won’t
believe in life)and death knows whie
(all good kumrads you can tell
by their altruistic smell
moscow pipes good kumrads dance)
kumrads enjoy
s.freud knows whoy
the hope that you mess your pance
every kumrads is a bit
of quite unmitigated hate
(travelling in a futile groove
god knows why)
and so do i
(because they are afraid to love
“kumrads die because they’re told)” by E.E. Cummings is a poem about communism and it’s people. He writes out against communism, and about the lack of freedom that the citizens receive. He also writes about their lack of love and common necessities as being clean and healthcare. He writes that he knows the reasons why they hate, and the reason is, they cannot love. The reason he includes the line “god knows why)/ and so do i” Cummings wrote this poem after he visited the USSR and witnessed the poverty first hand. Prior to his visit he was brought up in a liberal family and was pro communist, but after his visit he changed his mind and went against it, seeing the poverty and horrible living conditions. He realizes that Communism is not the best government, because there are no freedoms and children grow up full of hate, and no love.
An amazing thing about the quote provided to us by Freaks 194, is that it represents the Trinity of the Godhead and the focal point of the Scriptures: "Love." I'm sure you're asking yourself: "How in the world does this single line of poetry represent so much?
Without over-examining the text, let's first just look at some numerical values being represented in the phrase:
"All in green my love came riding"
- One phrase (1 = Single Unit or Unity, and one GOD or GODHEAD)
- Seven words (7 = Spiritual Perfection or HOLY SPIRIT)
- Twenty-Six letters (26 = GOD [G(7) + O(15) + D(4)]) or in Hebrew gematria (26 = YHWH [Y(10) + H(5) + W(6) + H(5)])
- Seventy Four (74 = JESUS [J(10) + E(5) + S(19) + U(21) + S(19)] comes from adding up the positional value of the letters in the incorrect word "came" from the phrase of 26 letters. [c(17) + a(18) + m(19) + e(20)]
- Two Hundred Seventy Two (272 = English gematria value of all 26 letters). 272 = 2+7+2 = 11. 11 binary = 3 decimal (Trinity).
Notice that the original word "went" is replaced with "came," and that "came" is in the wrong position in the text. The English gematria value of "came" is 22 [c(3) + a(1) + m(13) + e(5)]. 22 is the total letters in the Hebrew alphabet. 22 also represents Revelation and the location of "the Key" to the Bible as presented in Isaiah 22:22:
"And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open."
See some of the following Scriptural cross-references of Isaiah 22:22:
"I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:19, NIV)
"I tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:18, NIV)
"I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." (Revelation 1:18, NIV)
"To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no-one can shut, and what he shuts no-one can open." (Revelation 3:7, NIV)
For additional information about some of these numbers as they relate to Scripture, select
22,
74,
272, and
528.
Also, note that the numbers 11, 22, and 33 previously mentioned are master numbers. Search the Internet to find out more about these master numbers.
Put the incorrect phrase directly over the correct phrase by E.E. Cummings:
All in green my love came riding.
All in green went my love riding.
123 45 67891 1111 11 1112 222222
0 1234 56 7890 123456
Just as the positional values of the letters for "came" equals 74 as previously mentioned, the same is true for "love" in the second phrase. Remember that 74 equates to Jesus, and love equates to 74, therefore Jesus equates to love. Well we all know from the Scriptures that Jesus is love, and that he loves us. Read the following words about Jesus' love that has been sung by millions and millions of children throughout the world:
"Jesus Loves me! This I know" from CyberHymnal.org:
Jesus loves me! This I know,
For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to Him belong;
They are weak, but He is strong.
Refrain
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
Yes, Jesus loves me!
The Bible tells me so.
Jesus loves me! This I know,
As He loved so long ago,
Taking children on His knee,
Saying, “Let them come to Me.”
Refrain
Jesus loves me still today,
Walking with me on my way,
Wanting as a friend to give
Light and love to all who live.
Refrain
Jesus loves me! He who died
Heaven’s gate to open wide;
He will wash away my sin,
Let His little child come in.
Refrain
Jesus loves me! He will stay
Close beside me all the way;
Thou hast bled and died for me,
I will henceforth live for Thee.
Refrain
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This stanza from the original is commonly omitted in hymnals:
Jesus loves me! Loves me still,
Though I’m very weak and ill,
That I might from sin be free
Bled and died upon the tree.
Here is one last comment about the poem: "All in green went my love riding" by E.E. Cummings. Have you ever invested in the financial markets and closely watched the various indicators on charts displaying the ups and downs of the currency pairs? Reread Cummings poem with trading currency in mind, or for that matter - trading stocks, options, or futures.
Feelings of ecstacy occur when falling in love with a beautiful person. Yet those feelings can become overshadowed by the sudden tragic loss of that same person. As Cummings would say: "my heart fell dead before."
Likewise, feelings of ecstasy occur when watching your financial investments in the market increase daily. Yet those feelings can become overshadowed by the sudden tragic drop in the market. If this has happened to you a few times, I'm sure you've probably said: "my heart fell dead before."
Our emotions overwhelm us in both our personal relationships and our market trading. With the market, we can normally keep our trades in check by applying stops or stop limits to each investment. However, the market can have huge overnight gaps causing most people to lose quite a bit of money - but not necessarily all of it.
To become successful in trading, we learn to become cold-hearted about our emotions. We suppress emotions by relying only on the facts resulting from backtesting historical data.
It still hurts to lose large amounts of money, but trading smart (without emotions) can limit the damages. Well I must say, when losing someone you love (whether through death, separation, or divorce), no matter how many times it happens to you, it hurts. Each time you might say: "my heart fell dead before."
How many times do you think God has said: "my heart fell dead before?" How many times have we separated ourselves from God, or divorced ourselves from the fellowship of other believers? How many times have we let our hearts fall dead in the spirit?
My prayer for both myself and for all who read this response is that we never lose the love that God has given to us through his only begotten son - JESUS CHRIST.
