a kind of listening

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 forms of fulfillment.

[Campbell McGrath, 'Forms of Attention', from Seven Notebooks]