The Great O’s
TL, DR: The Second Coming is now.
by Lucy Tucker Yates
The prayers of the O Antiphons, the Great Antiphons of Advent, are the most urgent, elegant condensation of humanness I know of. As in the circular breathing of an oboist, the words on our lips give life to generations past. They focus centuries of adoration, impatience, woundedness like a spotlight. They are the poetry I would send out into space.
TL, DR: The Second Coming is now.
by Lucy Tucker Yates
Photo: Mariadonata Villa
There is a song by Charles Ives (Memories I) that goes, "Weee're SIT-ting in the op-'ra house, the op'-ra house, the op'-ra house, We're WAIT-ing for the cur-tain to arise With won-ders for our eyes... A FEEL-ing of expec-tancy, A CER-tain kind of ec-stasy, Expectancy and ecstasy--Expectancy and ecstasy---SHHHHHHSSSSS!!!"
Such FEEL-ings surround and bind us together during Advent: we huddle in the grand theatre of heaven-and-earth, eager to see our hero revealed, ready for our leading man to light the shadows, right the wrongs, mete justice. The gaze of all is upon the stage.
The prayers of the O Antiphons, the Great Antiphons of Advent, are the most urgent, elegant condensation of humanness I know of. As in the circular breathing of an oboist, the words on our lips give life to generations past. They focus centuries of adoration, impatience, woundedness like a spotlight. They are the poetry I would send out into space.
How is such poetry fashioned? “Antiphon” comes from Greek ἀντίφωνον, “opposite voice,” and Socrates of Constantinople writes that Ignatius of Antioch (the third down from Saint Peter himself) introduced antiphony into worship after having a vision of two choirs of angels. Antiphons are often lifted from the Psalms or prophecies and designed for call and response, and to be sung as refrains.
So imagine everyone in the world, together, with the house lights dimmed, with or without ushers, with or without tickets, singing "O come, o come, Emmanuel." Remember how the hymn works: the first half of each verse invokes a Messianic title and attribute of Jesus, and the second half makes a request, drawing on His strength, from our weakness. "And ransom captive I-i-is-ra-el." Notice that the hymn is a beautiful and durable recasting (in the Aeolian mode), but know now that in the ancient Italian antiphons (the first, “O Sapientia,” appears in Boethius in the sixth century) the body–of prayer, of poetry, of past, of future–is suspended between the "O" and the "come".
Each verse calls on the Most High, offering a quality, a role, a memory, as a fan might smile up at the star: "Remember when you were the commander in that crazy long battle? You shredded that day. Can you come down and shred here?" Some petitions sound well-bred and -schooled: "come, and teach us the way of prudence." Some seem brisk, but really anxious: "don’t be slow, already!" All are predicated on His coming.
And the call is always the same–a great round vocative. "Vocative" comes from Latin “vox,” voice, and one of the glories of the human voice is the shape of O. Drop your jaw and try one. You may find that the air can't decide whether to rush out hot, as in relief or in pain, or to swoop in cold, as in shock or in awe, or to park and pop open the vocal folds, as in recognition. You are suspended in a tunnel, or a cave, or a cathedral, or a cheekily perfect dewdrop. A mouth like a portal. Round as a belly. Curved as Time.
Because God is master of inversion–we know the plot of our Trinitarian play works upside down, backwards, and inside out–the lines allow a neatly flipped acrostic mnemonic. Here are the names from end to beginning, from 23 to 17 December:
Emmanuel (God-with-us, the peoples' desire, giver of laws)
Rex Gentium (King of the Peoples, who made humankind from earth)
Oriens (Rising Star, Sun of justice)
Clavis David (Key of David, opener of locks, shutter of mouths)
Radix Jesse (Root of Jesse, life abiding in the tree that was cut down)
Adonai (Lord, Ruler over nature and the House of Israel)
Sapientia (Wisdom, the creating Logos and incarnate Word)
From the Parousia back to the creation. "Ero": "I will be [there]"; "cras": "tomorrow." The answer is within the questions: He is coming! He is the other “choir” in our antiphon! The secret voice, the wider circle! But when is "tomorrow"? Might verb tenses not work back and forth, too–or around and around? What if He is already here? What if we are all in the play?
We are presenting the antiphons in their traditional setting, framing the Magnificat, so as to hear the expectations of the leading Man amid the satisfactions of the expectant leading Lady. We are singing solos, but we represent the whole Church, who plays not only the part of the Prophets but that of the Mother of God.
When singing of the First Coming we always invoke the Second: when yearning for the Second we always echo the First. Try the O again, and this time raise your eyebrows and open the top half of your face. Lift your cheekbones and twinkle your eyes. There, don’t you feel like a child who’s discovered a secret? OHHHHH!! That’s the kind of O we don’t often see, because its wearer claps their hands in front of it to avoid giving too much away. Inside its arena, the Parousia is all one. Emanuel, God (already) with us.
And is this not the fullness-of-time itself? To seek to usher in on earth that which we ask the Redeemer to grant from Heaven? To meld the memory of Alpha and the desire of Omega? May we always be rounded to call and willing for His response: I will be there. I Am. Here. Now. May we always be caught between the expectancy of "Come" and the ecstasy of "O."
_________________________
O Sapientia, quae ex ore Altissimi prodiisti,
attingens a fine usque ad finem,
fortiter suaviterque disponens omnia:
veni
ad docendum nos viam prudentiae.
O Wisdom,
which came out of the mouth of the Most High,
and reaches from one end to another,
mightily and sweetly ordering all things:
come,
and teach us the way of prudence.
O Adonai, et Dux domus Israel,
qui Moysi in igne flammae rubi apparuisti,
et ei in Sina legem dedisti:
veni
ad redimendum nos in brachio extento.
O Adonai,
and leader of the house of Israel,
who appeared in the bush to Moses in a flame of fire,
and gave him the law on Sinai:
come
and redeem us with an outstretched arm.
O radix Jesse, qui stas in signum populorum,
super quem continebunt reges os suum,
quem Gentes deprecabuntur:
veni
ad liberandum nos, jam noli tardare.
O Root of Jesse,
which stands for an ensign of the people,
at whom kings shall shut their mouths,
and whom the Gentiles shall seek:
come
and deliver us, and tarry not.
O Clavis David, et sceptrum domus Israel;
qui aperis, et nemo claudit;
claudis, et nemo aperit:
veni,
et educ vinctum de domo carceris,
sedentem in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Key of David,
and Scepter of the House of Israel,
who opens and no one can shut,
who shuts and no one can open:
come,
and bring the prisoners out of the prison-house,
them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
O Oriens,
splendor lucis aeternae, et sol justitiae:
veni,
et illumina sedentes in tenebris, et umbra mortis.
O Day-spring,
brightness of the light everlasting,
and Sun of righteousness:
come
and enlighten them that sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
O Rex Gentium, et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis, qui facis utraque unum:
veni,
et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.
O King of nations and their desire;
the Cornerstone, who makes them both one:
come
and save mankind, whom you formed of clay.
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni
ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.
O Emmanuel, our King and Lawgiver,
the desire of all nations and their salvation:
come
and save us, O Lord our God.
St Martin’s Feast (Double Novena, Day 9)
Today we’ll look at a very different piece of music, Black Christ of the Andes, composed and performed by jazz giant, Mary Lou Williams, in 1962, the same year that St. Martin de Porres was canonized
Two great men each died on November 3. Charles Borromeo passed away on that day in 1594, and exactly 45 years later, on a different continent, Martin de Porres died in 1639. Their lives overlapped by 15 years, but they never met; most likely neither one ever heard of the other. Here are the prayers for Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, Day Six, Day Seven [All Saints Day], and Day Eight.
Scroll further down to find today’s novena prayers.
Yesterday we listened to a short oratorio, composed by Marc Antoine Charpentier, to honor St. Charles Borromeo and his deeds of love during the Milanese plague. Today we’ll look at a very different piece of music, Black Christ of the Andes, composed and performed by jazz giant, Mary Lou Williams, in 1962, the same year that St. Martin de Porres was canonized:
“‘St. Martin de Porres,’ begins with a choir singing a cappella. The chords — dense and full of satisfying tensions — showcase Williams' previously underutilized aptitude for vocal arrangement. As they sing the saint's name, the choir slows down, masterfully swelling on the vowels as if to prove their devotion. When Williams finally enters on the keys, she does so with an Afro-Latin groove, perhaps a nod to the heritage of the hymn's subject.
It is the perfect, haunting invitation to the world of this recording, which feels unexpected and refreshing at every turn. ‘Mary Lou Williams is perpetually contemporary,’ Duke Ellington once said. ‘She is like soul on soul.’ Black Christ of the Andes feels like soul on soul, perhaps in ways beyond what Ellington intended by the phrase. The entire composition is concerned with salvation, the wellbeing of our souls”
(Jenny Gathright, for NPR).
During the 2020 Festival of Friendship, Revolution of Tenderness hosted a free concert of Mary Lou Williams’ compositions, played by jazz pianist Deanna Witkowski and her Trio. This concert was acclaimed by all who tuned in for it, and was just one of the many excellent free programs that we organized this year. Please support our end of year campaign so that we can continue to provide free concerts.
We have an added gift for you today: a beautiful litany to St. Martin de Porres that you can recite in honor of his feast.
The Prayers:
St. Charles Borromeo
Day Eight:
“You must realize that for us nothing is more necessary than meditation. We must meditate before, during and after everything we do. The prophet says: ‘I will pray, and then I will understand.’" [Charles Borromeo, Homily]
You, Lord, who have the power to renew the heavens, the earth, and all things, give to all of us that new heart, that new spirit which you promised us through the mouth of your prophet: And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26). Bestow it upon us, Lord, with such abundance that it will produce in us, efficaciously and constantly, new resolutions, new customs, a new way of life, and in the end, that eternal renewal which the new Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, already came into the world to bring us. With this help, our heart shall be enlarged, reforms will no longer seem hard, nor your service burdensome. But the yoke will be sweet and the weight of your holy commandments light to us. We ask this through your son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
[Charles Borromeo, “Booklet of Reminders”]
Preserve in the midst of your people,
we ask, O Lord, the spirit with which you filled
the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo,
that your Church may be constantly renewed
and, by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ,
may show his face to the world.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
St. Martin de Porres
Day Nine:
“In the banquet of life Martin took the lowest seat at the table. Overjoyed to be at the banquet, he chose to sit with the poor, the sick, and the vulnerable. And, at that end of the table, he shared with his neighbors whatever he had. As a result, when in 1639 he went home to the Lord, the Good Shepherd spread before him the banquet of eternal life. At that banquet, Martin was invited to sit at a very high place, close to Jesus himself and to his Mother Mary, surrounded by the saints and angels.”
[Archbishop William Lori]
Blessed is the man who is found without fault,
who does not make gold his life's object,
who does not put his trust in wealth.
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
Who is this man that we may praise him,
for he has done wonders in his life?
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
O God, who led Saint Martin de Porres
by the path of humility to heavenly glory,
grant that we may so follow his radiant example in this life
as to merit to be exalted with him in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
[Collect for the Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Roman Missal]
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
Double Novena Day 8
St. Charles and St. Martin each inspired composers to write glorious music about their extraordinary presence in the world. The selfless and heroic charity that St. Charle exhibited while caring for the plague-stricken citizens of Milan inspired Marc-Antoine Charpentier to compose a motet, “Pestis Mediolanensis” (“The Plague of Milan”).
Two great men each died on November 3. Charles Borromeo passed away on that day in 1594, and exactly 45 years later, on a different continent, Martin de Porres died in 1639. Their lives overlapped by 15 years, but they never met; most likely neither one ever heard of the other. Here are the prayers for Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, Day Six, and Day Seven [All Saints Day].
Scroll further down to find today’s novena prayers.
St. Charles and St. Martin each inspired composers to write glorious music about their extraordinary presence in the world. The selfless and heroic charity that St. Charle exhibited while caring for the plague-stricken citizens of Milan inspired Marc-Antoine Charpentier to compose a motet, “Pestis Mediolanensis” (“The Plague of Milan”). This short piece of music, “like many of Charpentier’s other oratorios, …features a double choir, two groups of singers sometimes in counterpoint, sometimes in competition. In his [oratories], Charpentier used double choirs to represent opposed groups... At first, the choirs in ‘Pestis’ seem similar: a city divided against itself, in which ‘servants begged for compassion from their masters, and the poor begged from the rich.’ But in the final chorus, the choirs’ imitation might be heard as a united congregation, reverberating citywide, a call-and-response praising Borromeo’s holiness and generosity” (Matthew Guerrieri, Boston Globe music critic). You can listen to this motet here. Tomorrow we will consider a very different (but also hauntingly beautiful) piece of music that was composed in honor of St. Martin de Porres.
The Prayers:
St. Charles Borromeo
Day Seven:
“Do not neglect your own soul, do not give yourself to others so completely that you have nothing left for yourself. You have to be mindful of other people without becoming forgetful of yourself.” [Charles Borromeo, Homily]
You, Lord, who have the power to renew the heavens, the earth, and all things, give to all of us that new heart, that new spirit which you promised us through the mouth of your prophet: And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26). Bestow it upon us, Lord, with such abundance that it will produce in us, efficaciously and constantly, new resolutions, new customs, a new way of life, and in the end, that eternal renewal which the new Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, already came into the world to bring us. With this help, our heart shall be enlarged, reforms will no longer seem hard, nor your service burdensome. But the yoke will be sweet and the weight of your holy commandments light to us. We ask this through your son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
[Charles Borromeo, “Booklet of Reminders”]
Preserve in the midst of your people,
we ask, O Lord, the spirit with which you filled
the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo,
that your Church may be constantly renewed
and, by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ,
may show his face to the world.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
St. Martin de Porres
Day Eight:
“In another episode, Martin negotiated a treaty of sorts with the convent’s rodent population. Too many mice had found their way into the building and were causing significant damage. Then one day Martin was seen ushering an orderly regiment, consisting of several hundred mice, outside to the garden. There he explained he would feed them once a day if they stayed outdoors… St. Martin’s miraculous authority over animals speaks to our beginning and our end—where we’ve been and where we’re (hopefully) going. They gesture toward the order and harmony constitutive of mankind’s original, and final, glory. And they point the way to get there.”
[Jordan Zajac, O.P.]
Blessed is the man who is found without fault,
who does not make gold his life's object,
who does not put his trust in wealth.
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
Who is this man that we may praise him,
for he has done wonders in his life?
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
O God, who led Saint Martin de Porres
by the path of humility to heavenly glory,
grant that we may so follow his radiant example in this life
as to merit to be exalted with him in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
[Collect for the Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Roman Missal]
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
Special All Saints Day Prayers for the Double Novena (Day 7)
The vast majority of saints never defy the laws of physics and never have mystical experiences. Their one claim to heaven was love, and they loved so well, according to the pattern of love that Jesus showed us, that they initiated others into the Holy Trinity’s companionship of Love.
Two great men each died on November 3. Charles Borromeo passed away on that day in 1594, and exactly 45 years later, on a different continent, Martin de Porres died in 1639. Their lives overlapped by 15 years, but they never met; most likely neither one ever heard of the other. Here are the prayers for Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five, and Day Six.
Scroll further down to find today’s novena prayers.
“There is only one tragedy in the end: Not to have been a saint.”
(Charles Péguy)
The vast majority of saints never defy the laws of physics and never have mystical experiences. Their one claim to heaven was love, and they loved so well, according to the pattern of love that Jesus showed us, that they initiated others into the Holy Trinity’s companionship of Love. That’s all.
We would be in serious error if we were to imagine that St. Charles’ position as bishop and cardinal, or St. Martin’s gifts of bilocation and being able to communicate with animals, were what “made” them saints. Each of these men was, first and foremost, a practitioner of love. Their love was a divine love, not because it came with worldly honors or strange marvels, but because they loved without distinction, without “reserving” their love for the “deserving.” Like Christ, they loved the morally upright and also the sinners, the poor and the rich, those who were sick and those who were well. They loved everyone who happened across their human path, and they loved these people with all their energy and strength. That’s more than enough.
Our end of year campaign provides you with a way to collaborate in our mission to offer hope and healing during our uncertain time. Through education and the celebration of all that is good and true and beautiful, we seek to strengthen our human capacity for dialogue and mutual aid. Revolution of Tenderness is a 501(c)3 nonprofit. All donations are tax deductible. Please be generous.
The Prayers:
St. Charles Borromeo
Day Six [All Saints]:
“Calling the saints to mind …arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company... We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins..” [Bernard of Clairvaux, Homily]
You, Lord, who have the power to renew the heavens, the earth, and all things, give to all of us that new heart, that new spirit which you promised us through the mouth of your prophet: And I will give you a new heart, and put a new spirit within you (Ezekiel 36:26). Bestow it upon us, Lord, with such abundance that it will produce in us, efficaciously and constantly, new resolutions, new customs, a new way of life, and in the end, that eternal renewal which the new Adam, our Lord Jesus Christ, already came into the world to bring us. With this help, our heart shall be enlarged, reforms will no longer seem hard, nor your service burdensome. But the yoke will be sweet and the weight of your holy commandments light to us. We ask this through your son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.
[Charles Borromeo, “Booklet of Reminders”]
Preserve in the midst of your people,
we ask, O Lord, the spirit with which you filled
the Bishop Saint Charles Borromeo,
that your Church may be constantly renewed
and, by conforming herself to the likeness of Christ,
may show his face to the world.
Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
St. Martin de Porres
Day Seven [All Saints]:
“Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory.” [Bernard of Clairvaux, Homily]
Blessed is the man who is found without fault,
who does not make gold his life's object,
who does not put his trust in wealth.
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
Who is this man that we may praise him,
for he has done wonders in his life?
- His future will be secure in the Lord.
O God, who led Saint Martin de Porres
by the path of humility to heavenly glory,
grant that we may so follow his radiant example in this life
as to merit to be exalted with him in heaven.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
[Collect for the Memorial of St. Martin de Porres, Roman Missal]
Our Father, Mail Mary, Glory Be
The Enormous Room
First among the conditions needed for finding and generating novel, creative, and ingenious human responses – in any and all circumstances – is an “enormous room.” We want this blog, and indeed all the work of Revolution of Tenderness, to open up this enormous space of possibility.
Cover design for E. E. Cummings’ The Enormous Room, a memoir that details his experiences as a WWI POW in France
First among the conditions needed for finding and generating novel, creative, and ingenious human responses – in any and all circumstances – is an “enormous room.” We want this blog, and indeed all the work of Revolution of Tenderness, to open up this enormous space of possibility.
Our blog title alludes to a book by E. E. Cummings called, The Enormous Room, published in 1922. This autobiographical work describes Cummings’ imprisonment in France during World War I, and the “Room” the title describes is the barracks where Cummings was incarcerated along with about 30 other prisoners. While the “enormous room” that we want to build and that is crucial for fostering human flourishing and creativity, need not be a prison, it’s fascinating to note that Cummings’ confinement opened up a space in him where he could find and develop his poetic gift.
Two other secondary conditions for developing a richly creative and truer humanity are food and music. But not just any food (for example, not “bread alone”); and not all music will suffice for this purpose.
Cummings’ Enormous Room
E.E. Cummings was no ordinary prisoner, and the way that he experienced and narrated his involuntary detainment helps us understand the importance of cultivating our own enormous rooms. For Cummings, the space of his incarceration became a symbol for memory, for the space where he could keep the companionship of his fellow inmates alive. This “room” contained Cummings’ likewise enormous affection for all those with whom he shared it. The quality of the friendships formed within that communal cell also provides an insight into the needs of inventors, innovators, and all those whose daily work, no matter how hidden or “small,” can rebuild and unveil our humanity.
Each of us carries multitudes within. These throngs could become, over time, a faceless and colorless mob; sometimes it’s less painful to allow this degradation to happen, where memory breaks down the sharp edges of detail and leaves only a melted, vague mass of humanity. For a person to remain fully alive to her work and her environment, however, decomposition is worse than death. Distinguishing between one face and another, even between one subtle expression on a particular face and the mere flicker of a muscle that alters its meaning, could transform the essence of a relationship from ordinary to sublime. As Cummings’ notes, when describing his fellow prisoner, The Schoolmaster, in The Enormous Room: “Lessons hide in his wrinkles…” All creative contributors to a more human culture need the enormous room in order to keep track of every lesson that hides in each wrinkle.
Even more than lessons, though, the enormous room preserves and enlarges the affections among those who inhabit it. Cummings’ genius with words comes in second to his particular gift of tenderness for the subjects he writes about, even his captors. For example, during his entrance interview, he describes the petty official who interrogated him:
[He] looked as if he was trying very hard, with the aid of his beribboned glasses and librarian’s jacket (not to mention a very ponderous gold watch-chain and locket that were supported by his copious equator), to appear possessed of the solemnity necessarily emanating from his lofty and responsible office. This solemnity, however, met its Waterloo in his frank and stupid eyes, not to say his trilogy of cheerful chins–so much so that I felt like crying ‘Wie gehts!’ and cracking him on his huge back. Such an animal! A contented animal, a bulbous animal; the only living hippopotamus in captivity, fresh from the Nile.
He contemplated me with a natural, under the circumstances, curiosity. He even naively contemplated me. As if I were hay. My hay-colored head perhaps pleased him, as a hippopotamus. He would perhaps eat me. He grunted, exposing tobacco-yellow tusks, and his tiny eyes twittered. – from The Enormous Room, by E.E. Cummings
The impulse to “crack him on the back” and cry out, “How are you?” in German brings silliness into a humiliating situation. Cummings gives us burlesque, even as he dances in the arena of his own prison. When Cummings turns his attention to his fellow prisoners, his affection deepens:
And I wondered that France should have a use for Monsieur Auguste, who had been arrested (because he was a Russian) when his fellow munition workers made la grève [a strike], and whose wife wanted him in Paris because she was hungry and because their child was getting to look queer and white. Monsieur Auguste, that desperate ruffian exactly five feet tall who—when he could not keep from crying (one must think about one’s wife or even one’s child once or twice, I merely presume, if one loves them) … -used to, start up and cry out, taking B. by one arm and me by the other:
‘Al-lons, mes amis! Chantons “Quackquackquack.”‘ [Come, my friends, let’s sing the “Quackquackquack”] Whereupon we would join in the following song, which Monsieur Auguste had taught us with great care, and whose renditions gave him unspeakable delight:
…’finirons nos desseins,
…………………………Quack.
……………………………….Quack.
……………………………………Quack.
………………………………………….Qua-
…………………………………………………ck.’
I suppose I will always puzzle over the ecstasies of That Wonderful Duck. And how Monsieur Auguste, the merest gnome of a man, would bend backwards in absolute laughter at this song’s spirited conclusion upon a note so low as to wither us all.
If only we could reprint Cummings’ depictions of all his fellow inmates: the Schoolmaster, Orange Cap, the Zulu, Emile the Bum, the Silent Man, the seeker of cigarette ends, the Turk, the Bear, and many others, who all received similar, loving treatment from Cummings’ pen, but you can read them here.
We’re all, more or less, thrown together with a raft of characters, most of whom we would not have chosen for company. Out of these personalities, we can either make beauty or a living hell. Out of the hell of his confinement, Cummings made a love poem for a good number of men he would never see again. His is the room where memory sharpens affection’s focus and gives back art.
Food
Not just any food, no matter how exquisitely prepared or how locally-sourced and organic the ingredients, will satisfy the deepest needs of the human heart. In The Hiding Place, an autobiographical account, this time by concentration camp survivor Corrie Ten Boom, Corrie and her sister Betsie arrive at Ravensbrück camp and are able, against steep odds, to hang on to their Bible and a bottle of precious vitamin drops:
My instinct was always to hoard [the vitamin drops] – Betsie was growing so very weak! But others were ill as well. It was hard to say no to eyes that burned with fever, hands that shook with chill. I tried to save it for the very weakest – but even these soon numbered fifteen, twenty, twenty-five…
And still, every time I tilted the little bottle, a drop appeared at the top of the glass stopper. It just couldn’t be! I held it up to the light, trying to see how much was left, but the dark brown glass was too thick to see through.
The vitamin drops from this episode in The Hiding Place represent what nourishes an abundant life. These drops must be rare, needed by the owners, and yet freely shared, in love, all the same.
Why take examples from a prison and a concentration camp?
If something is true under great duress, then it can also be true in any circumstance. So to validate the need for memory, for affection, and for sharing a stranger’s precious, life-giving drops, we must see whether these things have value in the harshest circumstances.
Music
The “Quackquackquack” song provided a kind of oxygen, without which the enormous room’s inhabitants would have asphyxiated from lack of joy. Likewise, without Betsie’s hymns, which she sang despite the ugliest of circumstances, those vitamin drops would have dried up.
The impulse to song – including when music takes the form of a lyrical novel, or a well-mopped floor, or a dialogue that leads to deeper friendship – must rise up in us, or even the best memory, the most playful description of one’s tormentors, or the most noble impulse to share will fall flat.
Love needs to be set to music before we can play it. Let’s form a band. We’ll call it Saxifrage.