Joyce Sutphen: "How to Listen"

Tilt your head slightly to one side and lift
your eyebrows expectantly. Ask questions.

Delve into the subject at hand or let
things come randomly. Don't expect answers.

Forget everything you've ever done.
Make no comparisons. Simply listen.

Listen with your eyes, as if the story
you are hearing is happening right now.

Listen without blinking, as if a move
might frighten the truth away forever.

Don't attempt to copy anything down.
Don't bring a camera or a recorder.

This is your chance to listen carefully.
Your whole life might depend on what you hear.

"How to Listen" by Joyce Sutphen, from First Words. © Red Dragonfly Press, 2010.
  
Art credit: Image by an unknown photographer of "Archangel Gabriel," marble sculpture by Ivan Mestrovic (1918).