"Anything looked at closely becomes wonderful"

When attention is given to even the most ordinary objects or experiences, hidden complexities and intricate details unfold before the observer. The surface of daily life, so often skimmed in haste, conceals an enormous depth that only reveals itself through patience, curiosity, and focused presence. A blade of grass, at first just a streak of green underfoot, contains webs of veins, shifting shades in natural light, the subtle movements of growth, and plays a subtle role in the ecosystem. The act of looking closely transforms mundanity into a celebration of form, pattern, and subtlety.

Such attentive observation bridges the distance between the observer and the world, nurturing both a sense of wonder and humility. Wonder arises not because the world has changed, but because new levels of its richness present themselves. This act of looking is essentially an act of appreciation; it resists the glossing over that so easily reduces life to a bland procession of familiar things. When the mechanism of a watch is studied, when a poem is rewoven through rereading, or when the shifting emotions of a friend are noticed, new layers come alive, infusing previously unnoticed mystery and awe.

A. R. Ammons’s poetic sensibility finds inspiration in the act of looking deeply, transforming everyday sights into sources of beauty and insight. Attention is a gift both to the object and the self. Through genuine engagement, the world reciprocates with revelations. This perspective encourages adopting an attitude of continual curiosity and amazement, reviving a childlike way of seeing that adulthood often dulls. As attention sharpens, so does the experience of being alive: ordinary experience blooms with significance, and wonder becomes a practice, available always. By cultivating this way of seeing, life, in all its forms, from a stone in a driveway to the pattern of raindrops, offers endless marvels to those willing to truly look.