Just seeing my pal Michael (Dechane) in the comments with this Michael is making me happy.
“What do you want to carry into the cool shade of your inner life?” What a generative question. Yes. More poems, more details about the ones I love (not just scribbled down but internalized).
A gorgeous return to that lovely moment in Li-Young Lee's poem.
I especially like your reflection here:
"Notetaking brings the idea to the door, but it doesn’t guarantee a house guest. A habit of attention is not necessarily a habit of memory."
This jibes with my experience of journaling, slow reading, and handwritten reflection — wonderful practices, but they don't help me remember even my favorite sonnet ... a poem, that, the more I read your post, the more I heard ringing out, in the wings of my (first!) mind:
"When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
Just seeing my pal Michael (Dechane) in the comments with this Michael is making me happy.
“What do you want to carry into the cool shade of your inner life?” What a generative question. Yes. More poems, more details about the ones I love (not just scribbled down but internalized).
A gorgeous return to that lovely moment in Li-Young Lee's poem.
I especially like your reflection here:
"Notetaking brings the idea to the door, but it doesn’t guarantee a house guest. A habit of attention is not necessarily a habit of memory."
This jibes with my experience of journaling, slow reading, and handwritten reflection — wonderful practices, but they don't help me remember even my favorite sonnet ... a poem, that, the more I read your post, the more I heard ringing out, in the wings of my (first!) mind:
"When you turn around, starting here, lift this
new glimpse that you found; carry into evening
all that you want from this day. This interval you spent
reading or hearing this, keep it for life –"
— from Stafford's "You Reading This, Be Ready"
Thanks for the wonderful post and pause, Michael
Thanks for the note, Michael! Stafford's poem is such a good example of this kind of generous awareness.