The Daily Boost #389
Conversations can be miracles
GENEROUS LISTENING
Marilyn Nelson
On Being Gathering, 2018
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?
(My thanks to Marilyn Nelson, via OnBeing.)
The Gentle Nudge
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I love the description of “listening generously” 👌🏻
Beautiful poem. So many vivid, creative images for all the ways we can converse--creating conflict or miraculous connections. I like how this poem gently nudges us to choose to be "generous listeners."