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This is the birth day of life and love and wings

In honor of Easter, and spring, here is one of my most favorite poems, by one of my most favorite poets, e. e. cummings. (Yes, he really doesn't capitalize his name, I'm not just being a lazy blogger).
(P.S. for best results, read this poem out loud. It's better that way)/

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 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 awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
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Comments

  1. MikeApril 3, 2010 at 9:20 PM

    This makes me want to listen to Eric Whitacre. Just saying...

    ReplyDelete
  2. rissApril 4, 2010 at 3:27 PM

    Mmmmm....I don't think this poem's ever been set to music, but if it were to be, Eric Whitacre is the man to do it. Happy day.

    ReplyDelete
  3. rissApril 4, 2010 at 3:40 PM

    Oh wait...Eric Whitacre did do an arrangement of it. But I bet you already knew that, huh Mike?

    ReplyDelete
  4. MikeApril 4, 2010 at 6:40 PM

    Why yes. In fact, I listened to it right after posting the comment. :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. rissApril 5, 2010 at 11:09 AM

    I just listened to it...and I'm not a fan. It doesn't really convey the feeling I get from this poem, which is a very upbeat, dancing, celebratory feeling, just bursting at the seams with jubilation. Eric Whitacre's setting of it feels so...somber.

    ReplyDelete
  6. MikeApril 5, 2010 at 7:18 PM

    That's funny, because I was introduced to the poem through the song... and can't get anything else out of the poem than "This is the sun's birthday."

    ReplyDelete

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