Skip to main content

A Return to Silliness in a Song

Some time ago, I wrote about silliness (and more recently here), but I come back to it because I need it--and because I can't help it. Nothing is quite like the pressure of Self Importance, and I'm so much more likely to snap at you when, clearly, my agenda is The Agenda.

So, let's try something. I'll set my agenda down if you will. Deal?

I'll even set mine down first--there; it looks so much smaller on the floor, doesn't it? Now it's your turn--for we've made a deal, and we have a song to sing. Please, silly songs don't work all that well when our arms are weighed down. Good--I know you feel better because I do, too.

Now for the song. It's called "A Song Best Sung to Little Ones," and it goes like this:


Wiggle your toes and scrunch up your nose--

Yes, like that--for you have them! Your toes

And your nose, now what do they knows?

How to wiggle and how to scrunch!

"And what of my stuffy bears? What of

Their noses and wiggledy toeses?"

Oh! But they're only fluff! Though they comfort

And help us in darkest of night--they're fluff!

(Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful stuff,

All that fluffy fluff!) But you, oh my dear,

What are you? "Yes, what am I?"

Immortal, immortal, immortal stuff--

Yes, you, Immortal Diamond--though your shape

To our eyes is but small, and your true form

Is still to be formed, you are Immortal Diamond:

Wonderfully wiggledy stuff becoming

Immortal Diamond! "Oh, but how?"

The One who made toeses, He who made noses,

Is remaking you Immortal Diamond!


Well, that turned out to be more serious than we intended. It happens sometimes, you know, that we stumble upon things that are most important when we're being silly. Another piece of the silliness puzzle, I suppose. (Credit: Gerard Manley Hopkins for the phrase Immortal Diamond as applied above; see "That Nature is a Heraclitean Fire and of the comfort of the Resurrection.")

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Silliness Solidifies Relationships

On February 8th, I posted an introduction of sorts called "Toward a Manifesto of Silliness." Every week since then I've written about silliness, mostly as a way to meditate on and answer the question: What makes silliness important? My family and I talked it over, and here are our answers: "Silliness is a Sign of Joy." "Silliness is Important Because We are Silly." "Silliness is Just Fun." "Silliness Helps Bring Balance." Thinking on and writing about those answers helped this last silly answer grow -- I had an idea at first, but those initial answers shaped how I thought/think about silliness. It was a suspicion that began the day my youngest son and I played our game of nothing. Remember? All this began with nothing. Try to imagine: First, we sat side by side, the whole room bright from the sun. Soon, he draped his arms around my neck, and because of the faces we'd been making, laughter took over. His brothers were close by, ...
1 comment
Read more

Silliness Helps Bring Balance

If you've been with us for the last few weeks, you're beginning to see what we feel about silliness. If you haven't been checking in on us, however, here's what you've missed: * We asked some initial questions about why silliness is important . * Firstly, we said, silliness is a sign of joy . * Secondly, we are obviously silly and obviously important. You are, too, if you were wondering . * Thirdly, silliness is just fun . Don't worry, we'll wait while you catch up on all that reading. ... Good, I'm glad you're back! We're just giving another answer: Fourthly, silliness is important because it helps bring balance. I hope you know we're being earnest, if not completely serious. That last sentence made me smile, and I needed it at the moment. You see, even though all this writing and posting amounts to little, there's a feeling that begins at the back of my mind when I think I'm doing something good, especially when I'm glad about m...
1 comment
Read more

Silliness Is Important Because We Are Silly

Where have we been so far? In my introductory post,  Toward a Manifesto of Silliness , I wrote that I asked my family: "What makes silliness important?" The first answer: Silliness Is a Sign of Joy . Today, we're meditating on our second answer: Silliness is important because we are silly. As I explained about the first answer, this one also found me at a loss. It was a probing kind of answer, and, as we'll see in later posts, it's where I'm headed with all this nonsense. But hang with me here for now. Isn't the circular nature of this answer fitting? Silliness is important because we are silly; we are silly because it's important. As an argument, this circular kind rests at the peak of hilarity -- it's silly. And yet, the very nature of what we're discussing here requires a deep presupposition that can't be explained anyway. So we're fine with circular if you are. "Look around you," my son seemed to say. "Aren't WE s...
Post a Comment
Read more