The Task
by Jane HirshfieldOriginal Language English
It is a simple garment, this slipped-on world.
We wake into it daily -- open eyes, braid hair --
a robe unfurled
in rose-silk flowering, then laid bare.
And yes, it is a simple enough task
we've taken on,
though also vast:
from dusk to dawn,
from dawn to dusk, to praise, and not
be blinded by the praising.
To lie like a cat in hot
sun, fur fully blazing,
and dream the mouse;
and to keep too the mouse's patient, waking watch
within the deep rooms of the house,
where the leaf-flocked
sunlight never reaches, but the earth still blooms.
 | -- from The October Palace: Poems, by Jane Hirshfield |
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/ Image by Kinga Cichewicz /
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I just recently rediscovered this poem by Jane Hirshfield.
Some of her phrases grab hold of you--
It is a simple garment, this slipped-on world.
And--
And yes, it is a simple enough task
we've taken on,
though also vast
This poem seems to me to be an exploration of the way we awaken each morning to the day, and to the world. It's a simple enough action; we do it every day, day after day, seemingly without effort or thought. Yet, it is also an immense undertaking each morning: We emerge from a land of rest and sleep and the fluid reality of dreams, we stretch, and rise into the immense reality of the shared tangible world. We step from one immense reality and step into a new immense reality. Simple, right?
What is she suggesting with her imagery of cat and mouse? This is just my reading of it, but knowing Jane Hirshfield to be a Buddhist practitioner, I suspect she is saying something about meditation and mind. Perhaps the meditator's mind is like the cat; it must come to rest within the luminosity of consciousness. Then perhaps it can dream the mouse.
And the mouse is that hidden, hard-to-find deep mind, nestled safely in the secret corners of the house. The sunlight of daily consciousness may not reach there, but still awareness sees, and life blooms.
What do you think? Do you read it a different way?
=
An eventful couple of weeks. A little over a week ago my wife, Michele, had an acute asthma attack, so severe that we had to call an ambulance in the middle of the night. She spent three days in the ICU and another couple of days in a regular hospital room.
She is back home now, breathing better, but of course still recovering physically and energetically from the ordeal. We are taking everything one step at a time with a sense of gratitude.
Most Americans who have insurance get it through their work, but we are both self-employed, so we are having to make changes to deal with the repercussions and new treatments being recommended for her.
I don't want to lean on the Poetry Chaikhana community, since everyone was so generous last year in helping us with our big move -- for which we are both so grateful.
What that probably means, however, is that these poetry emails may become less frequent for the near future, since I will need to maximize the hours I can put into my day job.
I feel like you are all my neighbors in a wide-reaching neighborhood, and I wanted to let you know what is going on with my family, as well as why the Poetry Chaikhana poem emails may be less frequent for a while. Even if there is a delay between emails, please know that all of your are very much in my thoughts.
Be well. Embrace the wonder of each day. Sending love to you all!
Recommended Books: Jane Hirshfield
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| Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women | Given Sugar, Given Salt: Poems | The Lives of the Heart: Poems | The October Palace: Poems | Of Gravity & Angels |
| More Books >> | ||||
