There is a nonspecific gladness that envelops humanity in the first days of spring, as if kindness itself were coming abloom in the cracks of crowded sidewalks, quelling our fears, swallowing our sorrows, salving the savage loneliness. We are reminded then that spring โ this insentient byproduct of the shape of our planetโs orbit and the tilt of its axis โ may just be Earthโs existential superpower, the supreme affirmation of life in the face of every assault on it.
That superpower comes alive with dazzling might in a century-old poem by E.E. Cummings (October 14, 1894โSeptember 3, 1962), originally published in his 1923 collection Tulips & Chimneys (public library) โ that epochal gauntlet at the conventions of poetry, which went on to influence generations of writers, readers, and daring makers of the unexampled across the spectrum of creative work โ and read at the fifth annual Universe in Verse by the polymathic creative force that is Debbie Millman, with a side of Bach.
[O SWEET SPONTANEOUS]
by e.e. cummingsO sweet spontaneous
earth how often have
the
dotingย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย fingers of
prurient philosophers pinched
and
pokedthee
,has the naughty thumb
of science prodded
thyย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย beautyย ย ย ย how
often have religions taken
thee upon their scraggy knees
squeezing andbuffeting thee that thou mightest conceive
gods
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย (but
trueto the incomparable
couch of death thy
rhythmic
loverย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย thou answerest
them only with
ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย ย spring)
Couple with spring with Emily Dickinson, then revisit E.E. Cummings (who, contrary to popular myth, signed his name both lowercase and capitalized) on the courage to be yourself.
For other highlights from The Universe in Verse, savor Roxane Gay reading Gwendolyn Brooksโs โTo the Young Who Want to Die,โ Zoรซ Keating reading Sylvia Plathโs โMushrooms,โ Rebecca Solnit reading Helene Johnsonโs โTrees at Night,โ and a series of animated poems celebrating nature.
For a decade and half, I have been spending hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars each month composing The Marginalian (which bore the unbearable name Brain Pickings for its first fifteen years). It has remained free and ad-free and alive thanks to patronage from readers. I have no staff, no interns, no assistant โ a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. If this labor makes your own life more livable in any way, please consider lending a helping hand with a donation. Your support makes all the difference.
The Marginalian has a free weekly newsletter. It comes out on Sundays and offers the weekโs most inspiring reading. Hereโs what to expect. Like? Sign up.