#attention is the beginning of devotion
“This is what poetry does for me–both the reading and the writing of it–it helps me remember that each moment has the potential to open itself to me if I pay deep enough attention.”—Ellen Bass, from “An Interview with Ellen Bass” by Patricia Clark, The Writer’s Chronicle (vol. 54, no. 3, February 2022)
KAVEH AKBAR: I read something of yours a long time ago, maybe from an old interview or something, where you talk about how all of your poems can be divided into pleases and thank-yous. I love that. I love that idea. That’s the most basic form of prayer, right? “Help me, help me, help me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”
ADA LIMÓN: Yes! There is that sense of always being aware of speaking to the universe. […] And a lot of my poems are asking for something and pleading, or they’re looking for some sort of answer. Why has this happened or what does this mean or what can you give me or how can you fix this? And if I present this problem to you, will you heal me? Then I think on the other side of that, those “pleases” are often acts of trying to heal myself and trying to recover from an event or even just the maddening dream buzzing insanity that is our own minds. So I think there’s a lot of that, not necessarily looking for an answer but looking for a peace. With the thank-yous, there is that part where when things have turned around or have steered in the right direction; I do feel a sense that I need to praise. That my job is to sit down and praise and if I don’t then I’ll feel like the greedy child that when given the good day never reflects or enjoys it. I want to remember to praise.
— Ada Limón, from an interview for Divedapper
