November 21, 2025
Open to Moments
Interconnected Prerequisites
twenty or so years ago
nan refers jane to me,
jane needs a tutor for her son.
i work with her son,
jane and I strike up a friendship.
she is a radiologist,
tells me I can request her
for a second read
of x-rays anytime.
when a routine mammogram
reveals a possible lesion
i’m sent to a higher-tier facility
for a repeat screening.
jane is on hand to share results in person.
we pop into an empty room where she reports
the all-clear of my medical imaging
and then we get down to business:
—how are your kids?
—what are yours up to?
—are you still painting?
—do you work part-time now?
—do you know of a local yoga class?
—i don’t but i’ve been looking.
—if you find one, let me know.
i do find one, and it’s terrific—
five minutes away, drop-in style,
no need to register, great price,
led by a kripalu-trained instructor
to whom I feel immediately drawn.
i tell jane.
her schedule, it turns out,
doesn’t allow for her to join.
i, on the other hand, practice
every tuesday—three years now!—
and make friends, one of whom,
—cilla—invites me
to add a monday qigong class
to my schedule,
again, five minutes from home,
drop-in style,
great price, excellent fit,
instant easy connection with the instructor.
i practice weekly, two years now—
to challenge body balance,
foster inner mind balance,
find my grounded center.
thank you, nan, for the release
of a single, light, sticky
strand of silk
from your spinnerets
into the wind all those
years and years ago
so that today,
when newcomer maureen
arrives at
our qigong class,
heart on her sleeve,
nervous about
a diagnostic procedure
later that day,
we are
balanced,
grounded,
centered,
there to receive her.
—dotty seiter
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3 x 3″; watercolor and watercolor pencils on paper
#31 in a series of color swatches
2025
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Notes about poem and art:
• The knee-bone’s-connected-to-the-thigh-bone storytelling style of “Interconnected” was inspired by a blog post written by MaryAnn. Thanks, MaryAnn!
• In the process of generating The Scent, once again many unexpected challenges arose. Leaves that were bright and vivid with light passing through them outdoors took on more subdued hues indoors, and my paints dried to be less deeply saturated than when applied. Then the leaves began drying out and curling up. Additionally I had a devil of time posing the swatch card and leaves together so as to show off pertinent details in both the card and the maple leaves. And so forth—this card gave me a hefty workout!
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16 responses to “Open to Moments”
I was completely swept away as I read your story poem. Your intimate honesty and sharing and your expression of the connections and support that friendships can bring…and breed. May we all be there to receive people when they need us.
Then I read your notes…and I shed a tear of joy. Thank you for celebrating and sharing your Interconnectedness story.
Your hefty workout with your swatch card paid off! It captures the scent of fallen leaves.
MaryAnn, first, thank you again for your interconnected prerequisites blog post; it opened a door to a way to frame the tender moment of connection with a newcomer at my qigong class. Second, thank you for sharing your feedback that you were “completely swept away” as you read my story poem, and thank you for noting other elements that stood out to you—very welcome feedback as I find my way into crafting poetry. And, hooray!, thanks for letting me know the hefty workout with my swatch card worked out : )
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More helpful feedback! Thank you, Carol! It’s so valuable to see where/how my words land and learn the ways in which they are received. I am endlessly fascinated by what you refer to so aptly as “the strands of interactive friendship.” Yes!
And what a gift to have those showy maple leaves as references for color mixing and matching.
omg, Lola! I feel so rich in friendship and feedback today! Thank you for your comments. Thank you for being such a treasure of a teacher. I just love the way creative expression begins its life by moving through the body of one person but then becomes multifaceted in ways no one could predict as it is received and perceived by others. It’s so illuminating to see this poem and this painting through YOU
First, YAY that your comment made it through the cybergates! I never take that for granted, as you can well imagine!!!
Second, thank you so much for letting me know this writing touched you as it did. I’m grateful to have found a poetry teacher who encourages as follows: Do not write what you think someone else might want to hear. Do not write for anyone but yourself; write what is true for you. I never know how what I write will land, but I’ve taken Rosemerry’s guidance to heart. This poem was the story of something that was meaningful to me, and I wrote it the way I carry it in my heart. And it seems to have resonated with others : )
I had many challenges with my color swatches here but I loved the challenges, loved the subject matter, loved the outcome. Ta da!
I hope you can know how much I love this poem and the way it points to an infinite number of connections. I have thought about this a lot actually – on so many levels and at so many times in my life.
An 18 year young girl moves to Baltimore, 300 miles away, in spite of tears and pleas to not leave the coziest nest of love one can know. College becomes part time because of this move and it is here, far from home, that she meets mentors who help guide the choice to enrolling in nursing school. Who could have predicted she would meet her future husband there, and he, too, from a far away place? Who could have predicted they would marry and move again and eventually adopt a daughter from half way around the world?
What if she never left the comfort of home, never met her husband, never adopted their daughter? There are almost uncountable numbers of connections and bifurcations of the paths chosen.
And it was through MaryAnn that you and I have connected.
My husband had a philosophy professor who used to say almost everything comes from nothing. Not quite, but almost everything leads to blessings and connections and loved ones we could have never, never dreamed of.
Roseanne! THANK YOU for persisting when you were having trouble posting your comment—what a gift to read YOUR story of interconnected prerequisites! So grateful that you put all the pieces together here for me to savor. The connections we make are mostly unpredictable in advance and then such fun to relive in the retelling
What a wonderful poem and as always – love your colorful rectangles!
Thanks. All the connections and the receptivity that inspired the poem really touched me.
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