e.e. cummings

Each of us has visual cues in our variety of daily contexts. Sometimes it is to remind us of a place we have been, or maybe a place we hope to go, or people we love. One of the ones that I purposefully put right next to my work computer is a weekly calendar with artwork from one of my favorite artists, John August Swanson. His images are sometimes silly, sometimes holy, and always beautiful.

This morning, I was delighted to find that this week's image is a visual narrative of one of my favorite prayers by e.e. cummings. As a child, I grew up singing this poem in it's shortened song version at summer camp. It still brings me joy to think about jumping around in circles, and pointing to the infinite, natural beauty in the sky with my friends.

Whether, visual, spiritual, or lyric - I hope it is a cue for your day too!

i thank you god for this most amazing

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

wich 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)

"Festival of Lights"

(Not the illustration of cumming's poem, which I could not find on-line. But still one of my favorites - so much so that it's framed in my office.)