Listen to This: A Poem
You don’t have to be ready,
but you can be loved…
A poem spoken into collective being by Narrative Scribes at Lewis & Clark College, February 11, 2023 and scribed by Alexis Rehrmann.
Listen to This
You don’t have to be ready,
but you can be loved.
What about the grey? I like
stories, listen to this
We are not alone. Listening is
connection with others
silence is an acceptable
response. Make me feel
heard—
Stories have power. Listening is
Caring, listen to this:
be still for a moment
We can always try again
notice emotion, there’s no rush, please
please listen
Joining together touching each
other, I appreciate
this time, my eyes are open
This is rhythmic. Our bodies
are our homes. Observe
take a deep breath
I can see you. When you listen
to someone’s story your
heartbeats sync up
affiliate freely. If you need anything, I’m here
my neural synapses co-regulate with your neural synapses
(it’s ok to not know)
we are all in different places, listen to this
we are all human, change is constant,
you can tell your story, again
stories empower observe the unseen
becoming undone listen to promote
_____ [unheard]
tomorrow is a new day—what comes next?
It’s okay to feel uncomfortable
Listen to this!
Collaborative effervescing is how we rumble.
Take your time listening is care
Our stories matter
–Spoken into collective being by Narrative Scribes at Lewis & Clark College, February 11, 2023, scribed by Alexis Rehrmann.
About the Program
Northwest Narrative Medicine Collaborative created Narrative Scribe Training, a curriculum which builds on the narrative medicine practices of listening and witnessing.
Funded by a four-year grant from the Mellon Foundation, and housed at the Center for Community and Global Health, Narrative Scribe Training is part of the college’s community-based Healing Social Suffering through Narrative program and will be offered annually through 2025.
This poem was created in real-time as the final exercise in listening together.
