Poetry Anthology
Poetry Crossing Press, 2022
ISBN: 78-0-931552-25-0
152 pages, perfect bound
6 x 9 inches
$20.00
Edited by Phyllis Meshulam with Gail King, Gwynn O'Gara and Terry Ehret
A broken world needs poetry. Phyllis Meshulam, poet laureate of Sonoma County, California, invited poets to map the three stages of reconnection as conceived by Buddhist scholar and Rilke translator Joanna Macy. This anthology is a journey of witness and renewal in uncertain times. The poems in the beginning section, “Gratitude,” celebrate people, survival, and the beauty and bounty of the natural world. Rerooted in belonging, with quiet hearts and minds, we are ready for the next phase, “Honoring Our Pain for the World.” Yes, life is suffering, but when we read poems about despair, oil spills, racism, violence, illness, and greed, our hearts break open with compassion. The third section, “Seeing with New Eyes,” explores the fresh perspective that accompanies the pain and joy of rebirth and the clarity of awakening to the world around us. As D. L. Emblen expresses it, “if one persists in not looking,” you can lose a mountain or “the face of one you say you love.”
The possibility of change is as close as our next breath. With resilience and calm attention, the reader of this book may discover what poet Katherine Hastings calls “the freedom new beginnings bring.”