The sun’s birthday

Confession: Where I come from, this is how we do math:

seeds + earth

= the purest of happiness

Look what my dad made me:

hotbed

Last night he called to say “Do you want to come over? I have something for you.”

He’s pretty great.

(I think I would have said that even if he hadn’t made me a surprise hotbed, but you can’t be sure… and I never was good at hypothetical questions.)

So guess what I was doing today, when I was supposed to be making progress on an important document for a friend?

Yep.

a bit of earth

I needed this. Digging and turning, breathing and planting, losing and hoping.

The purest of happiness.

radish seeds

Did you know that if you cut bare forsythia branches and put them in water, they’ll bloom?

Before:

bare forsythia

After:

forsythia

My sis in law April taught me so. It took mine a full week, but the magic came.

forsythia 2

e. e. cummings:

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 of 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)

Subscribe
Notify of
9 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Admin
11 years ago

I remember singing that poem set to choral music years ago… and smiling at the end… and wondering if a particular girl in the audience was enjoying it as well. Glad to know you liked it. Love ya.

Janelle Glick
11 years ago
Reply to  Not The Boss

Amazing! Did you have your “eyes” on Shari way back then? I remember singing the song too, but I was singing to Wendell – I think that was on the Lancaster tour anyway.

11 years ago

Love the poetry!
Surely the important document can wait. 😉

Linda
11 years ago

Yes. Yes. and Yes!

Mama Zook
11 years ago

and are they tomato seeds?

Shari
11 years ago
Reply to  Mama Zook

Nope, my tomatoes are started indoors, for transplanting later. The ones on the picture are radish. I also planted bits of lettuce and spinach, and a few beets. We’ll see how they do there…

11 years ago

Wow! I would also have been delighted to receive a hotbed. It takes the spring such a long time to come to this area. Enjoy planting and watching new life springing forth. Spring is here!

Luci
11 years ago

Wonderfulness

11 years ago

Our neighbor tilled our garden this afternoon with his huge power tiller mounted to his tractor. The children ran around barefooted picking up stones. I felt the same exuberance. It is all I can do not to start putting things in the ground. But I really need to wait for my husband so that he doesn’t complain about my crooked rows!
Gina

9
0
Join the conversation to share your comments.x
Scroll to Top