‘Tell me about listening’ said Winnie the Pooh to CR one day
when they were sitting together in a thoughtful spot
and the sun was hummy.
‘There’s lots of different sorts of listening.’
CR explained. ‘It depends.’
‘On what? ’ said Pooh amiably.
‘On how you feel, I suppose.
For instance, there’s the ‘listening when you’re not’ sort of listening
which you do when Rabbit is rabbiting on about something that
doesn’t really matter.’
‘I know that sort’, said Pooh.
‘Then there’s the ‘half listening’ sort of listening,
when you sort of do and you sort of don’t.’
‘Like when Piglet’s telling you a very exciting story
and you can’t listen properly cos your tummy’s rumbling? ’
‘Precisely’
‘Or when Eeyore’s feeling particularly gloomy,
so you make ‘there there’ sort of noises instead of listening.’
‘The very same’.
‘What other sorts of listening are there? ’
Pooh asked eagerly.
‘Then there’s ‘real listening’
when you put aside everything else
and turn off your own mind completely.’
‘Like I’m doing now? ’ said Pooh
‘Like you’re doing now.’ said C R.
‘I like listening to you Christopher Robin’ said Pooh.
‘I like listening to you too, Pooh.
* (inspired by Michael Shepherd, M. Scott Peck and A A Milne)
Alison Cassidy
http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/pooh-bear-and-cr-discuss-listening/
