1. listening carefully or paying close attention to something
Usage: present participle of ‘harken’; formal or literary
2. recalling or going back to an earlier time or style
Usage: often used with ‘back to’

Examples

• She was harkening to every word of the professor’s lecture.
• The townspeople were harkening to the mayor’s urgent announcement.
• The new building’s design is harkening back to classical architecture.
• His speech was harkening to the ideals of the founding fathers.
• The artist is harkening to traditional painting techniques.
• We should be harkening to the wisdom of our elders.