Looking, Walking, Being
November 29, 2007 · by Christine
Looking, Walking, Being
“The World is not something to
look at, it is something to be in.” -Mark Rudman
I look and look.
Looking’s a way of being: one becomes,
sometimes, a pair of eyes walking.
Walking wherever looking takes one.
The eyes
dig and burrow into the world.
They touch
fanfare, howl, madrigal, clamor.
World and the past of it,
not only
visible present, solid and shadow
that looks at one looking.
And language? Rhythms
of echo and interruption?
That’s
a way of breathing.
breathing to sustain
looking,
walking and looking,
through the world,
in it.
-Denise Levertov (who lived in Seattle in the last years of her life)
-Christine Valters Paintner @ Abbey of the Arts
(all photos were taken in or near Volunteer Park in Seattle, top middle is the window of the Conservatory building, bottom are the door handles to the Asian Art Museum)
****Visit this week’s Poetry Party and keep sending poems in through Friday****
Posted in Photos | 4 Comments »
November 30th, 2007 at 10:02 am
ah…meeting me right where i am
i long for more time to just look and walk and follow my eyes. the poem and photos are luscious. i especially like the window and, of course, the door.
December 6th, 2007 at 12:40 am
These are spectacular. You have the gift for seeing something new. I like seeing my neighborhood through your eyes.
Do you know what those red fruits are, hanging from the tree?
It’s one of my current quests, identifying these seasonal harbingers, and I’ve been trying to identify that plant for weeks with no success.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:23 am
Thanks Waverly, as much as I love going off to quiet and wild places, I also adore exploring my urban backyard with new eyes. I wish I knew myself what those red fruits are, I am not that adept at identifying plants — although I’d love to work on this some more.
December 6th, 2007 at 8:23 am
lucy, I wonder if you’ve had any time to just be with everything that has been going on lately?