I have to admit that sometimes when I realize it’s time (or past time) to create the week’s #Mindfulness Mondays post, I wonder, what have I’ve gotten myself into? Do I really have the time or energy to post one of these every Monday? And then I open up the book, turn to the poem, begin to read … and lo and behold the power of poetry has done it again! This week’s poem “Sifter” gave me pause, a smile or two, and a metaphor to reflect on throughout the day and week ahead. In her poem, Naomi Shihab Nye makes the ordinary extraordinary and gives us something that “could help me (us) all year long.”
Teachers take note: the poem also contains a wonderful prompt for a writing assignment.
We don’t have permission to print the whole poem here, so I’ll just post a few lines, enough to open your “door” and imagination to all sorts of possibilities. I encourage you to search out the poem – it is well worth your time – and purchase Poetry of Presence so you can have this poem and many others at your fingertips throughout the year ahead.
Sifter
— Naomi Shihab Nye
“This, said our teacher, is the beauty of metaphor.
It opens doors.
About #Mindfulness Mondays
Each Monday, I post a poem – or part of a poem here – and on our Facebook page. We don’t always have permission to reprint the entire poems, but we are allowed to post a few lines.
Please join the conversation by posting a word, a phrase, or a short thought here in the blog’s comment section or on Facebook. Share the poem with others and invite friends and fellow teachers to join us on #Mindfulness Mondays.
Poetry of Presence and Teaching with Heart
The poems for our #Mindfulness Mondays come from Poetry of Presence and Teaching with Heart. (Every once in a while, when inspired by a particular event, date or thought, we may draw from other books, such as last week’s “Ulysses” from Leading from Within.) To enjoy the full poem each week, we encourage you to buy Poetry of Presence and Teaching with Heart.
Click here to purchase Poetry of Presence and here for Teaching with Heart.
Poetry of Presence is also available through the Grayson Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.
Teaching with Heart is also available through Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound and Amazon. As you may have noticed, I list Amazon last, because while Amazon may save you a few dollars, authors get a much higher percentage of the price and royalties when you buy their books directly from them or their publishers. Just saying…
photo credit: ancient history <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/7745843@N03/3180256055″>008/365.</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/”>(license)</a>
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