Pippa's Song by Robert Browning

The year’s at the spring,

And day’s at the morn;

Morning’s at seven;

The hill-side’s dew-pearl’d;

The lark’s on the wing;

The snail’s on the thorn;

God’s in his heaven –

All’s right with the world!

Some thoughts…

On this poem: Pippa Passes was published in 1841. Robert Browning described it as “the first of a series of dramatic pieces”. Pippa, the protagonist of the work, is a little silk-winder in Asolo, who attributes goodness to whomever she meets. As a foil to this innocent-minded girl, there are other, much more worldly characters, involved in pursuits that can only complicate their lives and that of those around them. Yet Pippa, hails them as “Asolo’s Four Happiest Ones”.

On a personal note:

The year’s at the spring,

And day’s at the morn;

Incidentally, the actions in the poem take place on New Year’s Day.

God’s in his heaven –

All’s right with the world!

Perhaps in our worst moments, it’s easy to deride this oft-quoted line – “Really? All’s right? With this world?”

If Mother Nature is not clobbering us with her special brand of tough love, we either visit our fellow-beings with hate and violence, or helplessly watch it happen from afar. Yet for all the senseless acts of cruelty that are widely publicized by the media, countless acts of common kindness and decency go unremarked. Even as we wish that the world was a better place, perhaps it’s already a better one than we imagine.

Wishing you joy and peace in 2013.