Remembering How to Hear

from Out With Lanterns, a daily poetry practice

What if we were all born remembering
that the spirits of our ancestors are here,
that animals can talk to us, that trees 
send little missives into our minds? 
It’s just that when language comes, 
most of us forget how to listen. 

The stresses we create 
in our modern lives
are silly and imaginary. 
You know that, right? 

We are only meant to connect, 
to eat what grows, and I don’t know 
what I am trying to say here 
except that I feel an aching,
acute loneliness remembering
how I heard the frogs’ warnings 
when I was a little girl. Once, 
a seagull dropped dead out of the sky
right next to me. We don’t listen,
but I know they’re still speaking.

Photo by Drew Brown on Unsplash