Who are you, little i?

who are you, little i
(five or six years old)
peering from some high
window; at the gold
of November sunset
(and feeling: that if day
has to become night
this is a beautiful way)

                             -e.e. cummings

Summary plus Interpretation of the Poem

The poem “Who are you, little i?” by E.E. Cummings, a 20^th century American poet, is an unconventionally written short poem that depicts an image of a childhood experience.

The speaker sees a five or six-year-old little boy looking out through the window at the setting sun and enjoying the beautiful way the day has turned into night. He calls this boy ‘little i’ and asks who he is. Evidently, the ‘little i’ is the speaker himself. This suggests that the speaker (probably the poet himself) recalls one of his own childhood experiences and expresses wonder about it.