Oct262026
Words of WonderPhotograph - Lucille Clifton

my grandsons
spinning in their joy

universe
keep them turning     turning
black blurs against the window
of the world
for they are beautiful
and there is trouble coming
round and round and round
by Lucille Clifton

 

One moment, captured here in a photograph that in my imagination the poet Lucille Clifton (1936 – 2010) is sitting and looking at in a solitary moment.

The poem elevates this moment from one amongst an infinite, to one that is luminous, singular and full of pathos. There is a sense of the perspective of one older and wiser, who has seen it all, feeling keenly the beauty and innocence of the children. It feels like the wisdom of age introduces a second window into the poetic picture, which looks on at life spinning, turning and going round and round the carousel. Is it the carousel of suffering with the ominous ‘trouble coming’? Or is it the carousel of happiness with the spinning of the ‘black blurs’ of young joyous bodies? Maybe both.

I love how poetry can make the ordinary special in this way – turning a passing moment into a deep reflection of the mysteries of life, hardship and love. We often reflect on precious moments as part of our mindfulness practice. The reflecting I think has the same effect as the poem, helping us to take in and appreciate the beauty of life more fully.

I find it can really add something to a poem when we find out about the poet. Lucille Clifton’s poetry often centres on the African-American experience, on overcoming adversity and on family life. With this in mind, the poem comes alive a little more and with another lens. Is it a comment perhaps on what she fears the future may hold for her grandsons who are perhaps still more or less innocent to the racial hostility out there in the world? As a grandmother she would love to protect them and have them always spin in their joy with the harsh world a safe distance away behind a window. And yet I also sense a serenity in her onlooking, as she prays for their protection.

Fay Adams

Ps. If you’d like to join our next mindfulness training to find out more about how it opens our heart to the precious moments of our lives please click here to find out more.

Photo by Rajesh Rajput on Unsplash

 

Tags: 

Author: Fay Adams

Fay Adams trained to teach mindfulness under the guidance of well-known teacher Rob Nairn, whilst living on the Holy Isle retreat island off the west coast of Scotland. She now teaches courses and retreats in mindfulness, compassion, insight, and mindfulness and poetry with the Mindfulness Association and she is a tutor on the University of Aberdeen’s Studies in Mindfulness MSc. Fay has been a dedicated meditation practitioner since 2006. She is a mindfulness supervisor and a teacher trainer. She is also a coach who brings unconditional mindful acceptance to her clients and helps people to nurture a mindfulness, compassion or self-development practice that is meaningful, sustainable, enjoyable and transformative. Fay was originally drawn to mindfulness in her twenties because of her chronic pain. Throughout her 6 years of living on Holy Isle in a small meditation hut, she immersed herself in discovering what the pain was all about. In the process she began to find a new way to inhabit mind, body and community. Ultimately, mindfulness has, as well as freeing her from the pain, become a deeply rich basis for living life fully. Fay now lives in Herefordshire with her partner and son.