Welcome! I’m delighted to be hosting the Poetry Friday Roundup this week!
After a few years of exciting travel and busy summers, and a hectic start to this one, I’m now enjoying a slow-flowing summer. I’m embracing and embodying words like putter, meander, wander, roam. I’ve done more than my fair share of digressing and side-tracking. And then there’s that delightful French verb, flâner, which means, essentially, to wander about with an engaged and inquisitive eye, but no destination in mind. I like to think of it as being open to everything, but with no agenda. Now, that’s a summer plan!
One of my favorite things to do this summer has been to follow the pollinators around my gardens and take pictures. It’s made for a lovely pace.
As the calendar flipped to August this week, I started thinking even more about pace. I confess, I have a propensity to hurry and rush. Too often I let the pace rev up to frantic, especially once the school year starts. I’m not sure how to stop this from happening (yet!). As I’ve been thinking about all the impending rush and scurry, this poem has been in my mind.
Hurry
by Marie Howe
We stop at the dry cleaners and the grocery store
and the gas station and the green market and
Hurry up honey, I say, hurry,
as she runs along two or three steps behind me
her blue jacket unzipped and her socks rolled down.
Where do I want her to hurry to? To her grave?
To mine? Where one day she might stand all grown?
(To read the the remainder of the poem, click here.)
Those first two lines of the second stanza are playing on repeat in my mind: “Where do I want her to hurry to? To her grave?/ To mine?”
So, I’m deliberately pushing pause while I can. Avoiding making too many plans. Cancelling or reorganizing them when I realize I have done so. I’ve taken more and longer naps this summer than I have in my entire life, and I’ll try to tuck in a few more. (The hammock and I have become good friends.) These days, when I think of running errands, I’m pausing to ask myself, “Do I want to do this right now? Do I need to do this right now?” More often than not, the answer to both of those question is: I don’t. It can wait.
Today as I lay in the hammock, I hear the bees buzzing about the hosta blossoms. I hear their sound ebb and flow, muffled by petals as they enter each soft chamber. My eyes trace the undulating path of a swallowtail butterfly. A pileated woodpecker swoops directly overhead to land momentarily on an adjacent tree. I watch it move up and down, hear it’s beak thunk into the trunk of wood, see it’s wings unfold as it flies away and listen to its ululating cry. I watch the shadows shape shift in the leafy canopy. I close my eyes and try to imprint the moment.
Summer is ending… but it has not yet ended.
Summer Mantra
May I be present in moment’s glow,
resist directing its ebb and flow,
relax into the day’s embrace,
let buzzing bees decide my pace.
May my eyes drift with monarch’s flight
and revel in day’s changing light.
May I gauge time by shadow’s reach
or tidal rhythms at the beach.
While clocks and phones sit idly by,
may I unwind with heartfelt sigh,
and coalesce with present space.
The gift of now can’t be replaced.
©Molly Hogan
And now I find myself humming this song…
“Let the morningtime drop all its petals on me….” Ahhhhhh…
Wishing you a wonderful late summer and sweet, smooth, flowing days. Please add your link below to join this week’s Roundup.
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Nix the comfort zone 
I’ve been thinking similar thoughts about slowing down and enjoying some unscheduled time before fall. Summer is alway busier than I want and I’m to blame. Your photos are lovely. “The gift of now can’t be replaced.” That’s a perfect line to end on.
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There’s a definite tension between fitting it all in and letting go and relaxing! Hope you’re able to enjoy some unscheduled time 🙂
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I’ve been thinking similar thoughts about slowing down and enjoying some unscheduled time before fall. Summer is alway busier than I want and I’m to blame. Your photos are lovely. “The gift of now can’t be replaced.” That’s a perfect line to end on.
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Thanks for hosting us with such a delightful and calming post. Perfect poem. Perfect music.
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Writing this post has reminded me how much I enjoy listening to Simon and Garfunkel. Their songs have become my August soundtrack 🙂
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Oh those pollinators and the hammock! Bliss! I have had to go into school 2x this week already. Officially back on Monday. Enjoy the time that remains!
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I went in once to send letters home, but am heading in today to start digging out and setting up. We still have some time though–the official first PD day is in about two weeks. Best wishes for a wonderful year!
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I would love to take in some flâner, how delightful, as is your post! Thanks for hosting, and your treasures and gifts of summer pleasure in poems, music, and pics!
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Thanks, Michelle. It was fun to host as I haven’t in a while. Moving forward, I’m hoping to be a bit more regular participant in PF.
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Your gardens are a little slice of paradise. The Marie Howe poem is perfectly paired with your composition — “let buzzing bees decide my pace.” {peaceful sigh}
And love the Simon and Garfunkel! (Coincidence: last week I shared them singing “At the Zoo.”) Paul has quite the Mr. Spock haircut in this one. 🙂
“Life, I love you…” Thanks, Molly! And thanks for hosting.
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Simon and Garfunkel for the win! Such great songs :)I’ll have to go check out your post from last week. I’m not sure I know that song!
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Molly, thank you for this. What a wonderful post. I love the prayerlike Summer Mantra… “May I…” Your words in the paragraph of what you experienced from your hammock certainly leaves an imprint on your reader. So beautiful. I enjoyed my old favorites Simon and Garfunkel. Thank you for hosting today.
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Thanks, Denise. I’m hoping to fit in a few more hammock days before summer’s end. It’s been too hot lately, but the temperatures are supposedly heading lower. Fingers crossed!
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Marie Howe’s poem goes straight for the heart, doesn’t it? “While clocks and phones sit idly by,
may I unwind with heartfelt sigh”– 💖
Thanks for hosting!
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That Marie Howe poem is a favorite of mine and a powerful reminder to me. Sometimes I think I should send it to my kids as a sort of an apology for all the times I rushed them along…
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Why hurry indeed, Molly. I like your conscious plans to slow down and appreciate simple pleasures and treasures. I can clearly hear Simon and Garfunkle delivery the perfect background music. Love the poems, love the garden images. They perfectly articulate the mood. Thanks for hosting.
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Thanks, Alan. It definitely takes some conscious effort to slow down. I’m not perfect at it yet, but I’m sustaining the effort!
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Molly, you gave me quite a bit to ponder. I did say I was going to pause but what happened to that goal? I do love nature and sat outside for lunch with my son checking out my magnolia trees with one blossom but why don’t I do this daily? Thanks for the wonderful poem, your slow-moving precise words that always paint a story, and the these last lines that I will remember in the hustle – bustle of life.
may I unwind with heartfelt sigh,/and coalesce with present space./The gift of now can’t be replaced.
Have a wonderful beginning to your school year.
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I also often have to remind myself of my goal to slow down, pause and enjoy the now. I guess it’s an ongoing process.
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Molly, your summer mantra flows slowly, like the tidal rhythms at the beach. I can hear the bees buzzing, and I‘m feelin’ groovy! Gorgeously relaxing and beautifully written. I love how you’ve slowed to savor the pace of August, which seems to slip away in a heartbeat. Thank you for hosting.
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Thanks, Tracey! August seems to pick up steam no matter how much I try to keep it on a slow simmer!
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Thank you for this, Molly. What a wonderful reminder to appreciate the now. Your stanza “relax into the day’s embrace, let buzzing bees decide my pace.” is beautiful. Yes to slowing down and feelin’ groovy.
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Thanks, Rose! I’ve been singing that S&G song on repeat these days! 🙂
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[…] has this week’s Poetry Friday roundup at Nix the Comfort Zone. Remember, next week Heidi is subbing in for Margaret, who will take Heidi’s original spot on […]
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[…] Molly Hogan has the Poetry Friday link up today at Nix the Comfort Zone. […]
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I feel this so deeply in my soul. I was raised Catholic by English parents, so if you combine Catholic guilt and a Protestant work ethic, and throw in a people-pleaser personality, you get a recipe for burn-out! I actually had to take sometime off work to rest and recover and just be. I’m done with pushing and hustling and feeling the pressure to always be doing something productive. Just being alive on this beautiful earth and being present in each precious moment should be enough.
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Amen! It sounds like you’ve found that balance. I’m still working on it. I’ve also got that Protestant thing and the people-pleaser thing going on. I don’t have the Catholic guilt, but I must have picked up some free-floating version. Here’s to being present!
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This is an absolutely lovely and groovy post. You are singing my song from following pollinators to those ouchy lines from Howe’s poem to taking naps. I was so relaxed this week I skipped the pressure to have a post for Poetry Friday and it’s all good. t’s nice to be just a reader this week. Thanks for hosting, Molly.
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Here’s to setting positive limits and relaxing in the extra space! Hope your year’s off to a great start!
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Dear Molly, you’ve got me humming…and puttering (love that word!!). Thank you! xo
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If puttering were an Olympic sport, I’d be a real contender for the gold! It’s one of my favorite summer activities.
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Such a perfect post — Marie Howe, S&G, and your beautiful photos and poem. I’m feeling August relax just being here.
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Thanks, Patricia! August does seem to have a mind of its own though–it’s slipping into a higher gear already, despite my best efforts!
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Molly, such a great post! I love your pollinator photos, especially the hummingbird moth! I haven’t been able to snap a photo fast enough to catch that amazing moth. A tiger swallowtail butterfly is my favorite butterfly. Thank you for sharing S & G’s Feeling Groovy. I will be replaying that in my head for days. I love your Summer Mantra poem! Your first line “may I be present in moment’s glow” hooked me. I resonate with “relax into day’s embrace/let buzzing bees decide my pace.” I adore those next four lines and their imagery. “The gift of now can’t be replaced.” is the perfect ending.
When you start school, maybe bring your camera with you to stop by one of your favorite places after school to flâner or take a catnap in your hammock. Thank you for your inspiration. Enjoy your second graders. 🙂
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Molly, such a great post! I love your pollinator photos, especially the hummingbird moth! I haven’t been able to snap a photo fast enough to catch that amazing moth. A tiger swallowtail butterfly is my favorite butterfly. Thank you for sharing S & G’s Feeling Groovy. I will be replaying that in my head for days. I love your Summer Mantra poem! Your first line “may I be present in moment’s glow” hooked me. I resonate with “relax into day’s embrace/let buzzing bees decide my pace.” I adore those next four lines and their imagery. “The gift of now can’t be replaced.” is the perfect ending.
When you start school, maybe bring your camera with you to stop by one of your favorite places after school to flâner or take a catnap in your hammock. Thank you for your inspiration. Enjoy your second graders. 🙂
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Molly, such a great post! I love your pollinator photos, especially the hummingbird moth! I haven’t been able to snap a photo fast enough to catch that amazing moth. A tiger swallowtail butterfly is my favorite butterfly. Thank you for sharing S & G’s Feeling Groovy. I will be replaying that in my head for days. I love your Summer Mantra poem! Your first line “may I be present in moment’s glow” hooked me. I resonate with “relax into day’s embrace/let buzzing bees decide my pace.” I adore those next four lines and their imagery. “The gift of now can’t be replaced.” is the perfect ending.
When you start school, maybe bring your camera with you to stop by one of your favorite places after school to flâner or take a catnap in your hammock. Thank you for your inspiration. Enjoy your second graders. 🙂
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