May 5, 2011

e.e. cummings, "O sweet spontaneous"

In the backyard, this young squirrel would seem ho-hum daily fare. But in the woods, I felt as if I'd discovered the essence of squirreldom  (Independence Oaks, near Clarkston, Michigan).




Ditto the Tree Swallow pair; a purist might be put off by their being coaxed, trained, hoodwinked by that box. Not me. Except for cages, a nice bird is a nice bird.

"O sweet spontaneous" is one of the cummings poems I fell for in college, and I still like it. It's the best of both worlds; I don't have to admit to being a completely mindless sap in youth or a jaded, dessicated academic in the 21st century, too learned for such hormonal advocacy of the irrational. 

O sweet spontaneous - A poem by e.e. cummings - American Poems

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13 comments:

  1. MontanagirlMay 5, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    Thanks for visiting my blog! I answered some of your comments and questions back where you posted your comments. You have a nice blog.

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  2. Brenda's ArizonaMay 5, 2011 at 7:09 PM

    Love this one in the way it leads you up to SPRING. The high order language, the feeling of a cathedral out there... and then realizing it, the cathedral, is spring.

    Wow, nice photos, too!

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  3. Banjo52May 5, 2011 at 8:38 PM

    Montana, amazing bird photos at your place. I encourage others to take a look.

    Brenda, sheer pantheism, that cummings boy! But I shouldn't make light of it--what better cathedral?

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  4. AnonymousMay 6, 2011 at 12:48 AM

    Oh, good old e.e. For all his whimsey, he can cut to the chase.

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  5. Banjo52May 6, 2011 at 10:19 AM

    AH, maybe that's why I keep coming back to him.

    And in this poem, I'm paying more attention to the word "spontaneous" as the contrast to operations that seem brainier, like philosophy and religion (and "the academy").

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  6. Brenda's ArizonaMay 6, 2011 at 10:47 AM

    And then there is the alliteration: "prurient philosophies pinched
    and poked"...
    Coming early enough in the poem to make me wonder if this was going to be a joke on us.

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  7. Banjo52May 6, 2011 at 5:16 PM

    B, but it ends up as a joke on them, the pokers, the invaders, don't you think?

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  8. PJMay 6, 2011 at 10:07 PM

    This poem reminds me that Spring is a conflicted season down our way but still, it always arrives and we're so very relieved.

    Did you hear that there's a bill to eliminate the EPA?

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  9. Pasadena AdjacentMay 8, 2011 at 7:32 PM

    Mother's day has me running in and out with an eye on a backyard nest. Silly birds built it on a flimsy vine tucked between the eves of my patio overhang. One baby is lying dead having avoided "flying the coop" in favor of "the big splat." Fate can be a mighty cruel poke, if you ask me.

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  10. Banjo52May 10, 2011 at 10:23 AM

    Sarah, thanks.

    PA, no argument here. Also, I know why humans came up with "bird brain." But I find they're still a big lift, and it goes way beyond rationality.

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  11. Ken MacMay 10, 2011 at 10:52 PM

    what is that critter in top frame?

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  12. Banjo52May 11, 2011 at 9:48 PM

    Paula, I think I did hear about the EPA. Well, we didn't need that environment anyway. It wasn't paying for itself. It was a charity case, a hardcore freeloader. (Hope everyone hears my tongue in my cheek).

    Ken, a young squirrel, as far as I know--like your guy on city cement? City squirrel and country squirrel?

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  13. Banjo52May 13, 2011 at 4:54 PM

    Ken, as far as I know, it's "just" a young squirrel--in a somewhat natural setting rather than urban cement.

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