Toward a More Elegant Attention (Hannah Stephenson)

I.

Oh big branch in the river

who will get you out

who will fetch you

II.

When a dog holds a stick

in his mouth

moves it across the park

and leaves

the memory lives in the dog’s jaw

and in the fallen stick

But when someone burns that stick

and years later, the dog is gone

where can the truth survive

III.

Where did all of these sticks come from

you would think a whole forest

has been released

a passel of arrows

IV.

The remembered pets

how a human calls a human

who was a child alongside them

just to say

remember what a good dog she was

V.

The light

doesn’t want to say

anything to anybody

“Toward a More Elegant Attention” was composed on a walk I like to take through downtown Columbus, along an area called the Scioto Mile (on the Scioto riverfront). There are small, beautiful seating areas along the meandering path. My favorite things are these bench swings (think park bench + porch swings). This fall has been very full of projects, and taking weekly long walks has helped to keep me sane, and inspired. During one such walk, I was noticing everything more closely – the oranges and reds of the trees, the smell of leaves in the air, the scuffed up concrete, the dog owners walking with their dogs. The more I looked, the lovelier things became, even the not-beautiful things. The ordinary is elevated by our attention — certainly one reason art is valuable.

– Hannah Stephenson