Last evening [4/19/20] a friend of mine gathered a group of her socially distancing friends
together through Zoom for 70 minutes of following the poet Mary Oliver’s Instructions
for Living a Life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
After a beautiful meditation leading us into mindfulness we looked at examples of poems
dealing with paying attention to the ordinary. These included William Carlos Williams
Between the Walls and Matsua Basho’s famous haiku “Old pond‘. I offered two of my
own: Autumn Haiku and Looking Out the Window posted on the PBT website.
Each participant was invited to choose a common object near them and observe it through
the senses and engage it with the imagination. Then each one shared their observation with
the group. A box of tissues, a kitchen timer, a paper punch, earmuffs, a matchbox, a pen, a
bowl, and a stuffed toy aardvark were among the items chosen. One described a tree with
blossoms shining through snow that he had seen on an afternoon walk. My contribution is
offered below.
The Binder Clip
Silver levers press open
the pressed closed edges
of a binder clip.
So, to all of you during this period of enclosure when we are deprived of face to face contact
and other normal activities that fill our days, practice Mary Oliver’s instructions;
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.