Welcome! It’s Poetry Friday and the roundup is here!
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention.
Be astonished.
Tell about it.
-Mary Oliver
I try to live by Mary Oliver’s suggestion and find something each day to notice and appreciate. I write these observations down in a log I call “Snippets.” It is supposed to be a daily practice, but lately I found myself not recording. Was it that I just stopped writing things down, or worse, was it that I stopped paying attention? That worried me.
Since September always feels like a new beginning, I’m using this month to reset and get back into the habit of appreciating all the world has to offer, especially the little things that often go unnoticed. My poem for today comes from a few of my recent observations:
If Only for a Moment
Sometimes I imagine
if only for a moment
what it would be like
to live as the hawk
perched at the top of the pine
like a Christmas star,
or the deer
bounding through the yard
and over the fence
with the grace of a ballerina.
Sometimes I imagine…
if only for a moment.
Draft, 2025RoseCappelli
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Imagine the Possibilities 
I love the repetition of the first line. at the beginning, the line welcomes us into the poem and into the fun of imagining. But having it at the end makes us think on it more, becoming the hawk and the deer in our own mind, rather than just in yours. Nicely done.
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Thank you, Diane.
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Lovely poem. Good reminder, too, to be attentive, observe and appreciate. I think I may have to start my own “Snippets.” Thanks for hosting this week!
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Thanks, Jama. I always appreciate your thoughts.
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Doing a reset in September is a super idea, Rose. Good luck with your snippets and thanks for hosting!
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Thanks, Tabatha!
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“Like a Christmas star”…yes, please! I miss Mary Oliver. Thank goodness we have her poems. They are such lighthouses in the dark.
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“Lighthouses in the dark” is the perfect way to describe Mary Oliver’s poems. Thank you.
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So wonderful, Rose – your poem and especially the practice of noticing and keeping “Snippets”! Thanks for sharing. Today was super busy, but I was thinking earlier that I was glad I let myself get distracted for a moment – a few minutes – this afternoon, trying to work out if the red clay tracks across our driveway from one patch of woods to the next were from our resident neighborhood bear. I got busy following and taking pics with my phone and realized I’d let myself fall into an unexpected diversion, and I should do that more often! Thanks so much for hosting us all this week.
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Oh – that was me, Robyn Hood Black. ;0)
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Yes to unexpected diversions! I hope if it was a bear you didn’t get too close!
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Rose, I think it fair to say that when it comes to observation we tend to experience a natural ebb and flow. Sometimes we are acutely aware of the world around us and at other times, it steps back a little when we have to accommodate other matters that arise. When we are on, it is exhilerating, every sense truly alive and sparking. I got the sense from your poem that you are back in the zone. I like the idea of ‘snippets.’ I call my tiny gatherings- inklings. Mary Oliver’s words are worthy of being a mantra. A delightful posting. It has reminded me to closely observe across the upcoming days when I take a trip to warm and sunny Queensland.
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Thank you, Alan. Have a wonderful trip!
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Sometimes I imagine we can overcome all the ugliness in our country—and I’m reminded by your words that it will come with the joy and see and wonder of beholding nature all around us. Thank you Rose-for your poem and for hosting.
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Thanks, Patricia. I agree, at times it’s so hard to get past the ugliness to discover the beauty.
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What a lovely poem and idea, Rose. Your image of the hawk/perched at the top of the pine/like a Christmas star will stay with me as so many of my favorite lines of poetry do (this one reminds me of Kristine O’Connell George’s Old Elm’s words). Thank you for sharing how you are getting back to your log as I, too, am working to return to writing after a hiatus. Thank you, too, for hosting with your usual grace and wisdom. Happy snippeting. xo, a.
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Thank you, Amy! Kristine O’Connell George is a favorite of mine. Now I want to reread what Old Elm has to say.
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Dear Rose, I love these imaginings and am grateful for your soft, clear heart in this poem. Thanks for hosting! xo
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Thank you, Irene!
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How lovely if you didn’t need to imagine these, Rose. Thanks for hosting!
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Thanks, Matt!
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I love your poem. It is a gentle reminder to pay attention to the beauty around us. I try to live by Mary Oliver’s words, but I often write them in my journal, but I think having a separate notebook would make them easier to use in my writing. Have a great weekend!
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Thanks, Linda!
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Rose, you have provided thoughts that I want to keep close to me. Thank you for Mary Oliver’s wisdom. Your imagination offers lovely images for your poem. Even a minute of observation is better than none at all. I am sorry that I am entering PF late in the day. My post will be sent soon.
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Thank you, Carol.
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I needed this advice today, and your poem delights the imagination. Thanks for hosting.
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Rose, I love the idea of a “Snippets” log. One of the reasons I love photography so much is that it helps me stop to “notice and appreciate.” That’s a practice I need to lean into, especially these days. Your poem is full of beautiful imagery, and “Sometimes I imagine” is such a great starting line. Thanks so much for hosting this week!
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This is beautiful, Rose. Also, isn’t it amazing how we humans can drift away from a habit, even one that is so satisfying and important?
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Thank you, Laura.
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