{"id":3241,"date":"2019-11-06T00:00:07","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T05:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/?p=3241"},"modified":"2019-11-06T09:05:48","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T14:05:48","slug":"nov-6-how-could-i-forget-naomi-shihab-nyes-gift-for-language-for-8-whole-months","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/2019\/11\/06\/nov-6-how-could-i-forget-naomi-shihab-nyes-gift-for-language-for-8-whole-months\/","title":{"rendered":"Nov 6 — “How could I forget Naomi Shihab Nye’s gift for language for 8 WHOLE MONTHS”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201csomething
\nyou already had
\nAnd set it down in
\nA new place.\u201d<\/p>\n

This week, when I am 4 days back home for a few weeks at Six Mile & Livernois and looking ahead for 3 weeks off the road, these weeks feel like some settling in after 3 weeks of hammer-slammer multi-tasking on the sabbatical road. \u00a0 These November weeks remind me of a short-form prayer I have shared for many years with a soul friend. \u00a0 Every so often, when the intuition catches my attention,\u00a0I text my friend this short message: \u00a0\u201chave you breathed yet today?\u201d \u00a0 \u201cBreathing\u201d in this context works like this: \u00a0you stop where you are (i.e., stop walking to a next task; \u00a0you straighten your shoulders and stand tall; \u00a0you draw in a slow deep breath, filling your lungs; \u00a0you release the deep breath). \u00a0You imagine that this ritual has created a place of stillness where you can hear the sound that a tree creates {or the grass around you} as they grow. Within that stillness, you make a commitment: \u201cI love my life, exactly as it is now, with nothing changed.\u201d \u00a0 Then you go on your way again.<\/p>\n

Naomi Shihab Nye\u2019s poem feels just like that prayer. \u00a0 Have a blest day.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

john sj<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s Post<\/strong>\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cFresh\u201d \u00a0Naomi Shihab Nye<\/p>\n

\u201cFresh\u201d<\/p>\n

To move
\nCleanly.
\nNeeding to be
\nNowhere else.
\nWanting nothing
\nFrom any store.
\nTo lift something
\nYou already had
\nAnd set it down in
\nA new place.
\nAwakened eye
\nSeeing freshly.
\nWhat does that do to
\nThe old blood moving through
\nIts channels?<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Naomi Shihab Nye
\nb. March 12, 1952\u00a0(age\u00a067)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201csomething you already had And set it down in A new place.\u201d This week, when I am 4 days back home for a few weeks at Six Mile & Livernois and looking ahead for 3 weeks off the road, these … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":139,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[11641],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3241"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/139"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3242,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3241\/revisions\/3242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/poetry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}