E. E. Cummings's phrase "mountain's a mammal"

Welcome to A2K, cevoravno. I love e.e.cummings because he breaks all the rules, and in doing so gives us life far beyond what science can explain. To me, he is being cryptic on purpose, and I would say that he is telling people to not put all their faith in science alone. Make that mountain a mammal that can nurse and nurture life:

"the soft adventure of undoom,greedy anguishes and cringing ecstasies of inexistence;never to rest and never to have;only to grow.

Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question!"

Wow! don't you love it?

sort of reinforcing Le grande Teton.

Or mountain mamma, farmer.

Look at your own mountains, cevoravno. Are they not awe inspiring?

Interesting take, Letty! I agree that he's being cryptic on purpose, but I come to the opposite conclusion -- it's the classic "... then I'm a monkey's uncle" construction. As in, mountains are NOT mammals, so science doesn't fail.

With a little extra layer of meaning that it is science that gives us the means to categorize these things.

Great, soz. Now our Serbian friend has two interpretations. That is what is really important when "feeling" cummings.

About Cummings's phrase "mountain's a mammal"
Thanks to all of you. I thought the same as sozobe about the phrase since we use very similar phrase in Serbian but i wasn't sure if i am right and if such a phrase exists in your language. But sozobe, i think you missed the point for cummings wanted to say that we are lucky because science CAN fail, to put it mildly. Please read carefully the Introduction again.
Letty, thank you very much for the beautiful image, i like your spirit.