Friday, July 23, 2021

Generous Listening

 


A conversation can be a contest,

or a game of catch with invisible balloons.

They bounce between us, growing and shrinking,

sometimes floating like cloud medicine balls,

and sometimes bowling at us like round anvils.

You toss a phrase and understanding blooms

like an anemone of colored lights.

My mind fireworks with unasked questions.

Who is this miracle speaking to me?

And who is this miracle listening?

What amazingness are we creating?

Out of gray matter a star spark of thought

leaps between synapses into the air,

and pours through gray matter, into my heart:

how can I not listen generously?


--Marilyn Nelson



 

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