Pat Schneider: The Patience of Ordinary Things
It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?
Discussion Questions
What impact does “The Patience of Ordinary Things” have on you?
What “quiet moments” and everyday objects have you noticed more this year, amidst the unevenness of the pandemic?
How do you plan to honor the ordinary and the everyday?
Reflections from #MedHumChat
““The Patience of Ordinary Things” is a gentle and soft poem, the kind of piece that nudges me to wonder again. I feel enlivened by how Pat Schneider animates the inanimate, bestowing on things the verbs of people. What a world we live in.” —@trishakpaulmd
“It makes me see inanimate objects in a whole new light! To imagine the stoicism of a blouse, patiently awaiting its day to be worn... it adds a sense of delight and wonder to everyday objects” —@rebeccagck
“this reminds me that i have control over my gratitude - if i work to notice the ordinary things, gratitude for the ordinary things will follow. and more gratitude is never a bad thing.” —@rita_hurd
“have felt a constant idling motor during this pandemic, much harder to read. So for me, plants and stones when walking , a harmony when my son sings, the shape of the morning sun are the few moments when I can slow that engine...” —@lfernandezi
About this #MedHumChat
“The Patience of Ordinary Things” was paired with “The Everyday,” a poem by Rachel Fleishman for a #MedHumChat discussion April 7, 2021 on Honoring the Ordinary.
The pieces for this chat, as well as the discussion questions, were curated by Rebecca Grossman-Kahn (@rebeccacgk) and Trisha Paul (@trishakpaulmd).
About the Author
Pat Schneider (1934 - 2020) was a poet, author, and founder of Amherst Writers and Artists (AWA).