Next Time
Next Time - meaning Summary
Attention as Compassion
The speaker imagines living with greater patience, attention, and compassion. Rather than rushing into speech or judging others by blame and praise, she would pause to notice the earth, weather, and the effort behind each human voice. The poem treats close observation as an ethical practice: awareness of the living world leads to a more generous recognition of other people’s inner lives.
Read Complete AnalysesNext time what I'd do is look at the earth before saying anything. I'd stop just before going into a house and be an emperor for a minute and listen better to the wind or to the air being still. When anyone talked to me, whether blame or praise or just passing time, I'd watch the face, how the mouth has to work, and see any strain, any sign of what lifted the voice. And for all, I'd know more -- the earth bracing itself and soaring, the air finding every leaf and feather over forest and water, and for every person the body glowing inside the clothes like a light.
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