Which Is Yes

There is an EE Cummings poem in which the poet begins by thanking God for these things, in my very faithful paraphrase:

• this amazing day
• the leaping, greenly spirits of trees
• a blue true dream of sky
• everything which is natural
• everything which is infinite
• everything which is yes

There is a beautiful setting of this poem by Eric Whitacre which I highly recommend for anyone with any interest in choral music. But the reason I bring it up because I often think about that poem and sometimes sing that poem driving in the car on beautiful days.

There is a particular place on my drive home from work (or from most places) that brings a tear to my eye far more often than it should for what it is. It isn’t any particularly remarkable vista, it’s just a view of some trees not unlike a score of other such places along that drive. But when the light is just right and my day has been just wrong, I am overcome. I am often overcome by views of nature that aren’t really anything exceptionally wonderful. And I think that’s wonderful.

Sometimes, I just need a lift and I don’t much care if it’s in the form of watery eyes at an expressly normal and inexplicably perfect line of trees.

Of course, cats being weirdos also give me a lift. Cats doing most things give me a lift.