This is my favorite poem about spring and even though the Arizona world is rarely mud-luscious or puddle-wonderful, it still evokes spring for me. And I’m going attempt to find e. e. cummings quotes or poems to go with all my photos for Marsha’s WQW challenge for this week.
in just spring in Just- spring when the world is mud- luscious the little lame balloonman whistles far and wee and eddieandbill come running from marbles and piracies and it's spring when the world is puddle-wonderful the queer old balloonman whistles far and wee and bettyandisbel come dancing from hop-scotch and jump-rope and it's spring and the goat-footed balloonMan whistles far and wee
Well, I don’t know if this balloonMan is goat-footed (or whether the balloonPerson is either), but it is a balloon even though not the sort e. e. had in mind.
(all the merry little birds are flying in the floating in the very spirits singing in are winging in the blossoming) e.e.cummings
(One of the things that drives me mad about WP is trying to get poems to format properly and the only way I know to do it puts them on the grey background. Sorry about that.)
This bird may not be flying right now, but I’m sure it’s quite merry despite the fact that its mother obviously never mentioned that standing on your food while eating it (or at any other time) is not really the thing. But spirits are singing and there’s definitely blossoming going on. 🙂
“Then it was spring; and in spring anything may happen. Absolutely anything.” ~ E. E. Cummings
Spring makes the wall finally warm enough to tempt these two to make their spring debut.
And still the mad magnificent herald Spring assembles beauty from forgetfulness with the wild trump of April:witchery of sound and odour drives the wingless thing man forth in the bright air. ~e. e. cummings
It also drove this winged bee into an ecstasy of headfirst pollen-gathering. Our girls used to sometimes say something caused an ecstasy spasm and that’s exactly what I saw here as he flitted from flower to flower. In fact, spring gives me an ecstasy spas. (Note: going headfirst into food probably qualifies as not being quite the thing either.)
when faces called flowers float out of the ground and breathing is wishing and wishing is having— but keeping is downward and doubting and never —it’s april(yes, april;my darling)it’s spring! ~e.e.cummings from "when faces called flowers"
These trumpet cacti don’t flower often and the flowers begin to wilt by the end of the first day but oh, the glory while they bloom!! We were blessed with three rounds of flowers our first year here. A sighting makes me grab my camera and rush outside immediately. Hurrah for spring!!
Such heart-lifting-spirit-soaring extracts from e.e. cummings, Janet. And exquisite photos and a fine phrase: ecstasy spasm to accompanying them.
Thank you kindly, Tish. “Ecstasy spasm” is such a good phrase. Out of the mouths of children, right? ❤
Great post. Love your photos and the poems and quotes are delightful. WordPress leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to poems.
Thanks, Peggy. Someone just said there’s a “verse” feature so I’ll have to explore that. But I’m happy you enjoyed photos, poem, and quotes.
Hmmm – a verse feature. I need to check that out.
Me too!
Janet, lovely choices. I smiled in so many places in this post: at the balloon, so common in AZ and not so much in other places, the lizard – so tiny, the bee in heaven, and the gorgeous cactus, for which you just taught me the name – trumpet. Great post!
WP does have its annoying moments. Do you use the “verse” block for posting poetry? I haven’t had that kind of problem with it. The other possibility is to use Canva to create a photograph, but then the words are not visible to those with sight problems unless you type them in the caption or underneath in a paragraph. I feel your angst. After hours of messing with it, that would have me in tears if I couldn’t figure it out – or I’d just say forget it! Thanks for sticking with it!
I hate to admit that I never though of using a photo of the poem. I could take one on my phone and just insert it. I use “preformatted” for poems so they don’t lose their shape, which is vital for e.e. cummings’ work. I’ll have to look for “verse.” I’ve not see that. I don’t really do anything too complicated or exciting with WP so I’m unfamiliar with much of what it can do. I’m not a fan of the last change with captions where a caption won’t automatically be in the middle but is always on the left. Who thought that made any sort of sense??
Anyway, I’m happy to have made you smile and I hope you keep smiling for this entire Monday. Looks like there’s rain in the forecast for tomorrow and I really pray we get some!
We are getting rain now as I write this, Janet. Vince is driving home and said there was rain in Scottsdale last night.
well written’
Thanks, I’m glad you enjoyed it.
janet
[…] THIS THAT AND THE OTHER THING […]
love this poem and the pics go so beautifully with the words
Thanks, Beth! That poem has always evoked the beauty and joy of spring for me.
I like the sunny light vibe of this post. Spring done right is wonderful. That purple flower with a bee in it, amazing.
The bees looked so funny backing in and out of the flowers. But they do it rather quickly so I had to take lots of shots to be sure I got some good ones.
Wowza Janet, this is a beauty!!! The poem is terrific (love his work) and one I’d not seen before. Your images really sing this week – I especially loved the bird on the flower – what an amazing get! And ooh la la for those trumpet cacti flowers!!! Wonderful post.
The birds love those cacti fruits and this one was right outside my parents’ window so I sneaked out and just kept taking “one more photo.” I’ve loved e.e. cummings for years and that’s probably where I got in the habit of signing my name as janet rather than Janet in most places.
Lovely post so full of joy! An ecstasy spasm.🤣 I will remember that.
Yes, “ecstasy spasm” works so well for those moments when joy/happiness just overwhelms you. 🙂
janet
Beautiful spring selections. Thanks for sharing, Janet!
Love his poem.
Good morning, Amy. I glad you enjoyed everything. I’ve always loved that first poem and he has other good ones as well.
Good morning to you, too. I remember I quoted his poems a couple of times. 💗
Beautiful post, Janet! I loved every quote, and flower blossom.
❤ Thanks, Deborah.
💗🌼
Wow, that woodpecker photo is amazing! I love it! …and I love the cactus flowers at the bottom ❤
Thanks, Lisa. I’m happy you like them and those two are several of my favorites too. The torch cactus flowers are stunningly beautiful but because they don’t last in full, pristine bloom more than a day, I always rush out to enjoy the beauty when I see them…and take more photos, of course. 😉
Yes, how many cactus flower photos might we actually have? Never enough! 😊
🙂 The same could be said about many things I photograph.
Me too!!!
Beautiful, and the colors are a stunning array.
Thank, Judy. We’re also seeing signs of spring here, different signs from the Midwest, but also lovely.
[…] THIS THAT AND THE OTHER THING […]
I love the poem and how you brought it to life with all your photos. I love the bee in the purple flowers. Kinds reminds me of Winnie the Pooh trying to get into the honey tree. A great read. Donna
Thanks, Donna. I’m happy you liked the poem. It epitomizes spring to me. That bee is quite a lot like Winnie and perhaps would compete for honey. 🙂 Seeing them head in like this always makes me smile.
Me too. My oldest granddaughter was afraid until I taught her their true motivation. They love our citrus trees and cant be bothered by us. Now she will go check on them . They are quite cute.
Our son-in-law is deathly afraid of bees. 😬
It’s a real phobia. Hard to believe when you see them drunk on pollen and in there element.
Thank you for the smiles, Janet – and lovely poetry, lovely pics, especially loved the bird (woodpecker?) Amazing shot!
My pleasure, A-C I’m happy you enjoyed it all. After looking all over, I believe this is a Gila woodpecker. Pretty good-looking, isn’t he? ❤
Very!
Jealous of your spring, beautiful post. We have a long way to get there I don’t remember if ever we’re had so much snow at this time of the year, nearly half a meter in our backyard. So waiting for what you described in your post
That’s a lot of snow. 🙂 But you’ll appreciate spring that much more.
The cactus blossoms look so beautiful. They are always the opposite of what the plant is: soft, nice, sensitive, colorful, exposed, attracting, and giving
That’s true and not just for Christmas cacti but for many others as well. 😉
Yep 😊
Wonderful, perfect spring pictures! I love e.e. cummings, especially his spring poems, so this post was a thorough and total delight. 🙂
It makes me happy to read that, Marian. ❤️. We’re having a lovely spring day here in Arizona today-only about 70-a brief respite before heading into the 90’s in a few days. I’m loving it!!