Puella Mea is a poem by E. E. Cummings. It is notable as his longest poem, at 290 lines. The title is Latin and translates as "My Girl", referring to Elaine Orr Thayer, his first wife, and the mother of his only child, Nancy Thayer Andrews.[1] Von Abele considers the poem to be a departure point for the poet from the "witty romanticism" of his early works.[2]
Puella Mea, a very early[3] Cummings poem, was first published in the January 1921 issue of The Dial, and then in Tulips and Chimneys (1923), Cummings' first collection of poetry. In 1949 it was published as a separate book by Golden Eagle Press. The book featured illustrations by Cummings, Paul Klee, Amedeo Modigliani, Pablo Picasso, and Kurt Roesch.[1]