The Overflowing Cosmos – the Poiesis of the Logos in the Canticle of Creatures of Francis of Assisi

In 1224, Francis of Assisi, by then blind, wrote the Canticle of the Creatures, one of the most quoted, commented on and translated texts in Italian literature. This poem is considered one of the earliest examples of poetry in the Italian vernacular, and as this poem is so well-known, we are supposed to know everything about it; that is, we know when, where and why it was written, what it says, and so on. Why, then, should we continue to talk about it? Perhaps because it still teaches us something about ourselves and our experience of the cosmos in which we live. In order to clarify this issue and how Francis of Assisi still teaches us to see and understand the cosmos with his song of praise, I will proceed as follows: 1- first, I will ask what we know about the Canticle of Creatures; 2- second, I will ask what philosophy teaches us (or does not teach us) about the cosmos in which we live; 3- third, by resorting to the thought of Jean-Louis Chrétien, I will ask what model of cosmos the Canticle shows; 4- fourth, I will try to show the poiesis of the cosmos that manifests itself thanks to the Canticle of Creatures and the overflowing of the cosmos that it sings.