Source: Song of America

"when faces called flowers float out of the ground" is the fifth and final song of Dominick Argento's Songs About Spring cycle, which sets poems of e. e. cummings.

"when faces called flowers float out of the ground" can be found in cummings's 1950 volume XAIPE.

Key Details About the Poem:

The Poem: It starts with the lines: "when faces called flowers float out of the ground / and breathing is wishing and wishing is having-".

Theme: The poem contrasts the joy of spring ("when every leaf opens without any sound") with the idea of "keeping" (possessing or holding back), which it calls "doting and nothing and nonsense"

Structure: The poem uses typical Cummings, employing unique punctuation and capitalization to create a sense of breathlessness and rapid growth.

Imagery: It often features vivid, almost surreal, images of nature, such as "the mountains are dancing together".