By Naomi Shihab Nye
is not turning the way you thought
it would turn, gently, in a little spiral loop,
the way a child draws the tail of a pig.
What came out of your mouth,
a riff of common talk.
As a sudden weather shift on a beach,
sky looming mountains of cloud
in a way you cannot predict
or guide, the story shuffles elements, darkens,
takes its own side. And it is strange.
Far more complicated than a few phrases
pieced together around a kitchen table
on a July morning in Dallas, say,
a city you don’t live in, where people
might shop forever or throw a thousand stories
away. You who carried or told a tiny bit of it
aren’t sure. Is this what we wanted?
Stories wandering out,
having their own free lives?
Maybe they are planning something bad.
A scrap or cell of talk you barely remember
is growing into a weird body with many demands.
One day soon it will stumble up the walk and knock,
knock hard, and you will have to answer the door.
10 Comments
Well, Hello.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s up?
What’s new?
What’s going on?
These are ways
Nowadays
Of saying hello.
These questions
Skip right past
Hello’s noticing.
Hello says
You are here
And I know it.
Hello stops
Intruders
From taking too much.
Take my hand
Shake it warm.
Let’s negotiate
The story
You would have
From me at first light;
Make it ours.
Make it new.
Narrate it, dear one.
See me.
Say hello.
Know the love you seek.
Great take. Everything worthwhile starts with hello. You can't get to a good story without it.
DeleteI love this gentle way of reminding the reader that the direct questions that we often confront others with as a greeting can be intrusive. “Hello” is a wonderful way of saying “I see you”. I also like how easy it is to read this poem and the stanzas of three lines.
DeleteEight Seconds
ReplyDeleteEight seconds.
Grab me.
Intrigue me.
Keep me
In the moment.
That long, or
Short, or
Whatever
You call it,
That's what you have.
Goldfish
Focus longer,
By a second,
But it's not about
Attention span.
Value, worth,
My time matters.
Draw me in,
Make me want more.
Tell me your story,
Start strong.
I'll stick around.
Pressure!
DeleteIt’s wonderful the way you have the rhythm of short sentences which really gets the point across. That is how it has become in our culture now, you have just a few seconds to grab the attention of the viewer or the reader, and you have captured that perfectly. Maybe it’s not all bad, maybe it makes us better writers… but I can’t help but wish that we would all slow down a little sometimes. So goldfish focus for nine seconds,eh? : )
Deletehttps://time.com/3858309/attention-spans-goldfish/
ReplyDelete;-)
Story Routes
ReplyDeleteThe story of a family travels in a spiral loop.
What happened many generations ago
Continues to echo down the years.
Scripts may vary, the players may be new
But basic themes repeat:
You are worthless, not good enough;
Or the opposite:
You are loved and worthy no matter what.
These potent heirlooms are passed down
Thoughtlessly, automatically,
Like water flowing over
A series of rocks.
We give what we are given,
Weaving our stories around the gift,
Generous or meager.
When one courageous person
Decides to step out of a poisonous flow,
She creates a new theme of healing.
Generations of fresh stories flourish—
Stories of love, connection, forgiveness.
They flow down and fan out
Into endless variations,
Spreading across the planet,
A healing network
Of infinite potential.
That touches home, Julie. It can be so hard to let go of our inheritance out of a sense of duty -- or the sense that we are not deserving of better. Thanks for this
DeleteThose thoughts may be thoughtless, or not. They may be more about the person sharing them than the person receiving them. We can't control what other people say or feel or how they act. But we can control how we respond. That's where your courageous person comes in, right? But oh the work in takes to break free, to create your own story, your own narrative. One of the Toltec four agreements is not to take things personally, but we're all beings with feelings, so how do we not? Much easier said than done, abd much harder to heal.
ReplyDelete