Understanding is the Key

William Carlos Williams’s poem “This is Just to say,” E.E. Cumming’s poem “l(a”, and Louise Erdich’s short story “Love Medicine,” all share the common theme of understanding. In each piece it is apparent that the speaker or character is looking for someone to understand their situation.
In William Carlos Williams’s poem the speaker eats plums which were intended for another person’s breakfast. He begs for understanding and forgiveness for his terrible mistake. This is evident when the speaker says, “Forgive me they were delicious so sweet and so cold.” The coldness of the fruit symbolizes the coldness in relationships that do not understand or accept forgiveness for something as minor as sharing.
E.E. Cumming’s poem “l(a” is quit unique. The structure of the poem is critical in understanding its interconnected theme with the other pieces. The poem spells out “a leaf falls on loneliness.” He isolates the letters to help the reader understand his nostalgia. The esses and the effs represent the sounds of leaves crinkling to the ground. The speaker is slowly falling to the ground of depression from being alone. He clearly is looking for the reader to understand his loneliness through the structure of this poem.
Finally Louise Erdich’s short story “Love medicine” relates to the common theme of understanding and loneliness by the character Lipsha Morrissey trying to get his Grandmother to understand that her husband always loved her. Lipsha’s Grandpa cheated on his Grandma Kashpaw with a woman named Lulu Lamartine. In Grandma Kashpaw and Lipsha’s great attempt to create a love medince they accidently cause Lipsha grandpa to choke and die. He chokes on a turkey’s heart which was suppose to reunite the love of his grandparents through the turkey’s love of finding a mate for life. Grandma Kashpaw becomes very lonely when she loses her husband. Lipsha tries to explain to his grandmother that the love medicine is not what brings back his grandpa, but it’s the love his grandfather had for his grandmother over time. He says, “Love medicine ain’t what brings him back to you, Grandma. No, it’s something else. He loved you over time and distance, but he went off so quick he never got the chance to tell you how he loves you, how he doesn’t blame you, how he understands. It’s true feeling, not magic. No supermarket heart could have brung him back” (Erdrich 236). Lipsha’s effort to try and get his Grandma to understand that his Grandfather always loved her shares the theme of understanding with the other two works.
Trying to make others understand how we feel is something most people in the world want. “Love Medicine,” “This is Just to Say,” and “l(a,” emphasize the theme of trying to reach out to get others to understand their emotions. In “Love Medicine,” Lipsha is trying to get his grandmother to understand that his grandfather always loved her. In “l(a” the speaker is trying to get the reader to understand his state of loneliness and depression. Finally in “This is Just to Say,” the speaker tries to get the owner of the plums that he ate to understand that he truly feels bad about him and wants forgiveness. Understanding others is essential in our lives.