Tuesday, June 8, 2010

This most amazing day

Artist: Jakob Hendrik Pierneef

I have long loved the work of this poet. And this particular poem is truly a little gem:

I thank God for this most
amazing day;
for the leaping greenly
spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;
and for everything
which is natural, which is
infinite, which is yes.

-- E. E. Cummings

5 comments:

  1. I love e.e. cummings and this is one of my favorite poems! Thanks, Ellie.

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  2. Yes, one of mine too!

    I'm also hugely fond of "in Just-spring".

    By the way, I read not too long ago that the poet himself did NOT prefer his name being spelled in all lower case letters - contrary, I know, to what we'd all been brought up with. Odd, how that really took off, isn't it?

    The weird thing is that it just doesn't "look right" to me. Capitalizing his name, I mean! :-)

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  3. I adore EE, or ee, cummings, and what I particularly like about him is that he is unafraid to express such exuberant happiness that it almost tips over into sentiment, but it never quite does, simply because he is so verbally energetic and inventive.

    I love "I carry your heart", though I realise that's almost a cliche these days, and I love "I sing of Olaf glad and big" and "I like my body when it is with your body", and "if I have made, my lady" and "maggie and milly and molly and may" and "may my heart always be open to little birds" and "it may not always be so" and "my sweet old etcetera". Among others.

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  4. (and "pity this busy monster,manunkind"

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  5. "...it almost tips over into sentiment, but it never quite does..."

    Oh, my goodness, Cathy. That's exactly it. Thank you for putting that realization into words.

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