Forms of Attention

by Campbell McGrath

Often writing is a kind of listening,

a form of deep attention.

Tuning the stations, fingering the dial.

From whence does that voice arise,

a spring in which foothills?

What will it say next?

The feeling of exhaustion

as one falls back upon the bed,

the sensation of thirst as water passes the lips—

are these forms of attention?

No.

These are harmonies of fulfillment.

From Seven Notebooks, New York: HarperCollins, 2008, page 86. The images and moments in haiku have always struck me as forms of attention. And so too are the images presented in this poem. So, for me, the answer to this poem’s question is not “No.” But are images and moments also harmonies of fulfillment? What does that mean, whether in relation to haiku or not?