Gretchen Schwenker, a freelance writer and editor, and Mathew Kessler, President/Publisher of Liguori Publications, have put together this appealing collection of spiritual poems for meditation and prayer. They are divided into sections on Faith and Grace, Hope and Perseverance, Love and Forgiveness, Justice and Peace. In his introduction, Bishop Robert Morneau states:
"Poetry has the potential to draw us beyond the captivating distractions of our busy lives. The Trappist Thomas Merton (1915 - 1968) maintained the importance of keeping our 'Daily appointment with mystery.' Poets help us do that by focusing our attention, posing significant questions, and revealing our emotions."
Poets can become soul friends as demonstrated in "Entourage" by Robert Morneau:
Who are your associates?
With whom do you travel?
Did you choose them or they you?
I journey with a band of poets,
never quite sure if they invited me —
or I them.
George Herbert is one,
daily in my heart his poems are sung.
Emily Dickinson, a close friend,
her words do my soul mend.
So many others come singing their songs
and I, undeserving, am blessed to sing along.
Nature, too, is a companion that inspires and edifies. So it goes in ". . . That Passeth All Understanding" by Denise Levertov:
An awe so quiet
I don't know when it began.
A gratitude
had begun
to sing in me.
Was there
some moment
dividing
song from no song?
When does dewfall begin?
When does night
fold its arms over our hearts
to cherish them?
When is daybreak?
We also enjoyed the poems in this collection by Emily Dickinson, Naomi Shihab Nye, Rabindranath Tagore, Jessica Powers, Rainer Maria Rilke, Mary Oliver, Gerard Manley Hopkins, and others. The book ends with an essay on continuing prayer with poetry and short biographies of the poets.
