Cummings alludes to transformation by immediately setting the stage of spring. He captures the transformation to come with a tone of lightness by the use of the word "mud-luscious," which both continues the allusion to transformation by referencing water and adds an almost childishness to the poem. However, beneath the lightness of the tone lies a murky emotion, which is brought on by the word mud. While water is typically cleansing, and mud is watered dirt, Cummings conveys a twisted rebirth, as if the cleansing water is dirty or tainted. The description of the balloonman also adds an element of dirtiness, for amid this luscious spring setting comes a "little lame balloonman," which connotes negativity and so disrupts the light tone of the stanza and creates a cynical expectation at the end of the transformation.
The balloonman's interaction with the children comes off creepily, yet the children respond with oblivious excitement. The structure of the line "whistles far and wee" reinforces the meaning of the words--his whistling covers a large area. When the balloonman whistles, "eddieandbill come," as if summoned by the lame little man. The connotation of a man calling to children is typically disturbing and the action further dirties the previously light tone of the poem. Because "eddieandbill" are crammed together without spaces and the balloonman whistles "far and wee," it's as if it doesn't matter whether Eddie and Bill come running--it could be any child leaving his "marbles and piracies." Their identity doesn't matter because the point is not who they are but that they are leaving behind childish things because "it's spring" and the balloonman calls to them. The effect the balloonman has on the children is eerie, yet the children don't seem to notice the potential malice behind the man's whistling; like children look forward to adulthood without thinking about the negative aspects--such as leaving behind the innocence of childhood, here characterized as marbles and piracies--so do these children look to the balloonman without considering his true intentions.
As the poem progresses, the children get farther away from innocence. The poem takes place "when the world is puddle wonderful," as if in chaos or confusion after or before a storm. cummings continues the pattern he began previously by reintroducing the ballooman as "queer and old. Again, he whistles, but the words "far and wee" are farther apart to emphasize that the children are getting closer to him and farther form their games. cummings uses the name bettyandisbel for the girls who "come running," which sounds like "eddieandbill." This could emphasize the similarities between these two groups and could allude to a reorganization between these groups if the pattern of continues. Since eddieandbill already came running and now bettandisbel leave their "hop-scotch and jump-rope," when the balloonman whistles again, what is left? The balloonman has summoned the possible groups of children--boys and then girls, and it's spring and the world is in chaos and the queer man, who has by now developed a strong negative connotation with the negative adjectives used to describe him, calls the children farther and farther away.
Finally "far and wee" are each on a different line and the pattern stops before finishing, inferring that the transformation is over. The final description of the balloonman states that he is goat-footed, which is sinister and satanic. Pan a Greek and Roman figure associated with sexuality, had goat-footed feet and so the balloonman adapts strong sexual implications. As children grow up and begin to lose their innocence, sexual awaking is a large part of that process. Now that eddieandbill are separated and bettyandisbel may be separated as well, if cummings had continued his pattern would eddieandisbel be together while betteyandbill are together? cummings leaves the stanza on "far/and/wee" without giving the rest of the pattern to emphasize that it's already known what will happen next. The transformation is over, the balloonman has pulled the children from their childhood, they have reached sexual awakening and now they begin adulthood, which is much more sinister--like the balloonman's goat feet--than marbles and jump ropes.
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