Poems for the Journey

This collection of poems tells stories about a few people and events which have been formative in the poet's life. Carefully selected and told from the poet's heart, these poems invite readers to consider their own personal formative experiences with people, places and events.

The photos on the pages immediately in front of each poem prompt readers' own memories and imaginations.




'Travelling with Sister Mary Luke Tobin, ' is set in the intimate space between two good friends driving a blue highway toward home in Denver, Colorado. The older woman, a nun, and younger woman, the poet, like to tell each other stories when they are together. What unfolds on the car ride towards home is a story that resonates with Peter's betrayal of Jesus by Peter's denying that he knows him. Silence is mentioned and also present all the way through the poem.




'Like Light in Running water' holds up to the light of understanding what the poet knows about her beloved grandfather's story.




'Waves, ' is a playful yet poignant sestina about the poet's family who grew up on the shores of Lake Erie. The repetition and arrangement of the sestiina's selected 6 words at the ends of the lines move the poem along with the energy of growing up. The movement is towards a place of new life.




'Diamonds and Sutras' is also a playful sestina.




'The Way Things Are Is Large, ' is a villanelle which holds our individual life stories up to the largeness of 'The Story' which seems to be the model or blueprint for all our lives.