Reflections on a Favorite Poem

Years ago I found a poem about gardening that spoke to me about the work of education. Overtime, I’ve come to see it as speaking as much to the work of leadership as to education and gardening.

The poem is “The Seven of Pentacles” by Marge Piercy. I wrote about it as the poetry of change, “I love this poem for what it says to me about the work we do to support and encourage change and growth and transformation. It takes time and attention and hard work. It takes patience and persistence and trust in ourselves, in each other, and in the work we are doing.” (I wrote this in the innocent days of January 2020 before we were subsumed by the changes wrought by COVID-19.)

The poem speaks to the necessary work and as necessary, the time, it takes for growth to happen, for connections to be made. We must do the preparation, we have to spend the energy, and we have to have the patience for change to occur. And all of the work is critical for gardening, teaching, leading, and too many other endeavors to list.

It’s healthy to remember that we can’t accomplish everything all at once, that not everything is a priority. As we look at our long lists of things to do, remember that we are in this for the long term. That teams take time to develop, lessons take time to learn, and the most important items on our lists require steady effort.

I know that can be a bit overwhelming. It sounds like so much to do, but I find it encouraging to remember that everything doesn’t have to happen all at once. I don’t have to complete the entire to do list every day. Sometimes, a bit of a break creates opportunities for things to happen in their own time. Sometimes pushing for change can create resistance and more difficulties.

Piercy’s poem reminds us that,

• “That which is worth cultivating takes time.
• We must be diligent about taking care of what is important, what is lasting.
• We cannot always see or understand how things or ideas grow and manifest themselves. Sometimes this happens quietly, without fanfare.” (Quote by Jake B. Schrum in Leading From Within – Poetry That Sustains the Courage to Lead.)

Whatever work is important to you right now, remember the importance of preparing the ground and doing your homework. Choose where to put your time and energy to make the best use of both of these precious commodities. And remember to stop occasionally, stand up, look around and notice all the good things that are happening all around you, even if they aren’t immediately obvious.

Take care,

Gage