Friday, October 07, 2011

Poetry Friday -- Details



The Devil's NOT In The Details

The details are holy.
Wholly
life-affirming,
life-saving,
attitude-adjusting.

How can you not be recharged by
constellations marching
sun glinting
blue skies blazing
trees changing
hawks soaring.

The details are holy.


©Mary Lee Hahn, 2011


It's so easy to get bogged down in the big stuff and forget to notice all the small things that can give us another way to look at the world.

I can always depend on the world to show me peace and beauty, right when I need it the most.


Mary Ann has the Poetry Friday round up at Great Kid Books this week.

14 comments:

  1. Yes!
    "The details are holy.
    Wholly"
    Yes!
    So true, Mary Lee. Yesterday's sky here had not one cloud...the trees are tinging crimson. The details are so holy.

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  2. As much as I enjoy the big picture, it is wholly composed of particular details--the "constellations marching" et al, and attitude-adjusting is exactly right.

    Being a connection-compulsive, I see that this is one of the things I'm trying to say in my post about the big picture vs. the details of our fancy-schmancy Curriculum 2.0.

    Nice one, Mary Lee!

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  3. Poetry says everything with total ease and such quiet reverie. There are details which are also whole (and thus holy) unto themselves.

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  4. Nice, Mary Lee. I especially liked "constellations marching," too. Did you post something recently about listening? Truly hearing someone/something and noticing the details seem to go hand-in-hand.

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  5. Mary Lee,

    Your poem is a perfect complement to the Wakoski poem that Jama posted at her blog today. In her poem "Breakfast," Wakoski writes about all the little details of making and savoring one breakfast on an autumn day. Here's one of my favorite parts of the poem:

    "Everything
    we will ever have
    is present
    in each day’s life."

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  6. Wow! I love it on the weeks when our poems bounce off of each other! I met with a parent this morning, and as she shared her story with me, it was as if I had written this poem for her!

    These connections are more beautiful details to ease the weight of the big picture...whatever that might be for each of us...

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  7. All that "charge" is there for the taking if we slow down and notice!Thanks for a wonderful poem, Mary Lee. (And I like Heidi's "connection-compulsive" line; I suffer/thrive from the same condition.) ;0)

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  8. I love how your poem picks up speed with the first line of the second stanza. Great energy!

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  9. Yes! Blue skies blazing!

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  10. It's a lovely poem, Mary Lee. I've always thought it was an odd expression but I hadn't really pondered it - your poem encapsualtes why devil and detail just don't go!

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  11. Love those poems about Autumn-every single one. This is new to me, so thank you for the sharing.

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  12. I'm with you on the details, Mary Lee. It does take a slowing down and a mindfulness to be able to fully appreciate them -- a trait we seem to be losing in our technological age. I will think of you as I gaze upon all the autumnal beauty around here.

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  13. A fabulous poem to read on a gorgeous NH autumn day. Many thanks!

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  14. Wow. That's all. Just wow. The details really are wholly holy. Thanks for reminding me to look carefully today!

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