Notice
The resident doctor said, “We are not deep in ideas, imagination or enthusiasm - how can we help you?” I asked, “These days of only poems and depression - what can I do with them? Will they help me to notice what I cannot bear to look at?” The doctor is forgotten now like a friend’s wife’s maiden-name. I am free to ride elbow to elbow on the rush-hour train and copy on the back of a letter, as if alone: “When the trees close branches and redden, their winter skeletons are hard to find -” to know after long rest and twenty miles of outlying city that the much-heralded spring is here, and say, “Is this what you would call a blossom?” Then home - I can walk it blindfold. But we must notice - we are designed for the moment.
Notice - meaning Summary
Attention as Recovery
The poem considers recovery from depression through the difficult practice of attention. After an unsatisfying encounter with a doctor, the speaker finds meaning in ordinary travel, writing, seasonal change, and the familiar route home. Noticing does not erase pain or make the world simple; it becomes a way to face what had seemed unbearable. The closing claim presents alertness to the present as a basic human need.
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