2013 Greenslet Cup Competition- "Earth Laughs In Flowers"

Where did our quote for the Greenslet Cup Competition this year come from?
Though it’s often been attributed to e.e. cummings, the quote actually appears in "Hamatreya", by Ralph Waldo Emerson. A slight misquote, its meaning taken out of context is quite different than in the poem. The full poem reads:
  







Hamatreya
By Ralph Waldo Emerson

Bulkeley, Hunt, Willard, Hosmer, Meriam, Flint,

Possessed the land which rendered to their toil

Hay, corn, roots, hemp, flax, apples, wool, and wood.

Each of these landlords walked amidst his farm,

Saying, “’Tis mine, my children’s and my name’s.

How sweet the west wind sounds in my own trees!

How graceful climb those shadows on my hill!

I fancy these pure waters and the flags

Know me, as does my dog: we sympathize;

And, I affirm, my actions smack of the soil.”

Where are these men? Asleep beneath their grounds:

And strangers, fond as they, their furrows plough.

Earth laughs in flowers, to see her boastful boys

Earth-proud, proud of the earth which is not theirs;

Who steer the plough, but cannot steer their feet

Clear of the grave.

They added ridge to valley, brook to pond,

And sighed for all that bounded their domain;

“This suits me for a pasture; that’s my park;

We must have clay, lime, gravel, granite-ledge,

And misty lowland, where to go for peat.

The land is well,—lies fairly to the south.

’Tis good, when you have crossed the sea and back,

To find the sitfast acres where you left them.”

Ah! the hot owner sees not Death, who adds

Him to his land, a lump of mould the more.

Hear what the Earth say:—

Out of context, it’s warm-and-fuzzy imagery. In context, it’s an illustration of nature’s supremacy, mocking the arrogance of a humanity which thinks it holds dominion over Earth – an immortal force created long before we existed and which will remain long after we’re gone. I find the quote more interesting with the nuances of meaning the poem presents, and I can’t help but wonder if Emerson would be dismayed to see it printed on coffee mugs as a happy pick-me-up.

And yet, it is a happy pick-me-up, too. For us, it’s an excellent reminder to live in the moment, to pay attention to fleeting instants of beauty, and to appreciate what we have when we have it. Because as Emerson points out, the nature of life is transitory.