Wednesday, February 1, 2012

e e cummings - Oct. 14, 1894 – Sept. 3, 1962

e e cummings
e e cummings wrote something like 2,900 poems, including many I love and also one of my very favorites; I've carried it in my wallet for 40-some years. It describes the sort of day you're having when everything feels right and marvelous and good -- both Mother Nature and Lady Luck are coddling you. In October, 2007, at Forest Hills Cemetery in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts, I recited this poem at his grave for my audience of two, dear Mark and dear Abby. It happened to be one of those amazing days -- there was a true blue dream of sky and the greenly spirits of the trees were leaping.



i thank You God for most this 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


(i who have died am alive again today
and this is the sun's birthday; this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings: and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)


how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any -- lifted from the no
of all nothing -- human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?


(now the ears of my ears wake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)



2 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed that Uncle George. :)
    Love, Johnny

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  2. Oh, and those eyes of his...am glad you noticed the greenly spirits of the trees leaping! Our tree spirits are rainsoaked at the moment..golly gosh the life in water drops..so much...so much..

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