A Poem by E.E. Cummings

if there are any heavens
if there are any heavens my mother will(all by herself)have
one. It will not be a pansy heaven or
a fragile heaven of lilies-of-the-valley but
it will be a heaven of blackred roses

my father will be(deep like a rose
tall like a rose)

standing near my

swaying over her
(silent)
with eyes which are really petals and see
nothing with the face of a poet really which
is a flower and not a face with
hands
which whisper
This is my beloved my

(suddenly in sunlight
he will bow,
and the whole garden will bow)

What do the brackets indicate? Are they stage directions?
THis is actually a boring poem, but I am bringing it out because there's room for analysis. It is also part of this year's Lit. syllabus.
Why a face with hands? What does it mean?
Notice that the dialogues do not contain the word"mother." This may mean that the persona feels he is unworthy of his mother, or else she is an abstract being, unreal. She seems not to exist, perhaps she is too good, or mentioning her makes her seem like any other common person. The poet wishes to convey she is different, and unworthy of a normal appellation.As she is not dead, and it is not time foir hr to die, the flowers cannot call her yet by name; she is not there yet.
Then, on the other hand, there is a new interpretation. AS thre are many flowers or denizens in that heaven, you cannot say "mother" or "wife" as the mother is not the mother or wife of the other flowers. So what to say? Each will say something different. Hence, the blank. yournimagination fills it. It is free; it varies for each flower.
I hope this will help 2007 Form 5
SPM Lit. tudents who are confused about this poem.