Occasions: Selected Poems

by Marilyn McEntyre

Overview

These poems, written for occasions, remind us of those occasions that recur--celebrations, commemorations, rites of passage, and ordinary moments of being that linger in memory as turning points or extraordinary encounters or summonings. Tied as they are to particular times and places, readers will recognize in them echoes of their own beginnings, partings, and moments of awakening.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781532652493
Publisher:	Resource Publications
Publication date:	09/25/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	84
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Marilyn McEntyre’s recent books include Word by Word: A Daily Spiritual Practice; Make a List: How a Simple Practice can Change Our Lives and Open Our Hearts; and Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies.

Marilyn Chandler McEntyre is a former professor of English and Fellow of the Gaede Institute at Westmont College. She teaches at UC Berkeley and UC Davis. Her most recent books include Caring for Words in a Culture of Lies (2009) and The Color of Light (2007).

Table of Contents

Introduction xi

I Occasions of Grace 1

Advent on the Central Coast 3

River Walk, January 6 4

February Again 5

For Sarah at Sixty 6

Married Every Day 7

Renewal of Vows 8

Celebrating in a Dark Season 9

Because it's Not your Birthday 10

Renewal and Return 11

Crossing Time Zones 12

II What Is Lost, What Is Found 13

A Lesson Before You Leave 15

For Lindsey in her Last Days 17

For Howard, In Memoriam 18

Not in Japan: March 2011 19

After the Fire 20

Getting Ready to Go 22

A Parting Gesture 23

At the Memorial Service 24

Visiting Hour 25

Invitation to the House of Grief 26

Remembering Roseanne 27

III Beginnings 29

At the Afterwords Café 31

Mother of the Bride 32

Moving on, Moving In 33

Root and Blossom 34

Making Your Home Here 35

Rooftop Garden: First Season 36

How Way Leads On to Way 37

What is Taken, What is Given 38

IV Moments of Being 41

Appa's Note 43

In the Borderlands 44

What Martha Knew 45

Lear, Again 46

Migraine 47

From the Pacific Time Zone 49

Song of the Turtle Tender 50

Working Out the Idea 51

A Moment Underground 53

Six Women on a West Coast Morning 53

Sestina 55

Outside, Inside 56

Men Who Love Mountains 57

Skill Sets 58

Diana 59

Blooming 60

One Bee 61

V Where The Spirit Speaks 63

On the Beach 65

Labyrinth-Curtis Hollow Farm 66

On Campus 66

First Light 68

Traces 69

What We See By 70

Where Light Survives 70

Invitation 71

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“Occasions is a grand occasion for celebration. Or, rather, a steady and quiet gratitude, a welcome ‘speaking of small things / with great love.’ Marilyn McEntyre wrote these glad poems for particular individuals, but I could swear she wrote them all for me. And maybe even for you as well.”

—Paul J. Willis, author of Deer at Twilight: Poems from the North Cascades



“These beautiful poems honor rites of passage, moments of wonder, and the fidelity of closely nurtured friendships. Each is a gift, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the shared grace of interconnected lives.”

—Sarah Pollock, Professor Emerita, journalism and English, Mills College



“In this lovely collection of poems, Marilyn McEntyre once again uses her keen sense of observation and exceptional wordsmithing to bring us moments worthy of pause and reflection. Each poem invites us into a place of spaciousness, awareness, and reverence while allowing us to consider and appreciate the emotions we share through the ups and downs of a lifetime. From eulogies to births to anniversary celebrations, McEntyre’s Occasions reminds us of what it means to be fully alive.”

—Marcia Meier, Author and Publisher, Weeping Willow Books



“Deep calls to deep in this book. If you don't have occasions that match the ones that inspired these wise, fierce, and gentle poems, you'll just have to invent them! Before I finished the book, I knew exactly which of my friends and family members needed to hear each grace-filled poem.”

—Shirley H. Showalter, former president of Goshen College and author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World

Editorial Reviews

Occasions is a grand occasion for celebration. Or, rather, a steady and quiet gratitude, a welcome ‘speaking of small things / with great love.’ Marilyn McEntyre wrote these glad poems for particular individuals, but I could swear she wrote them all for me. And maybe even for you as well.”

—Paul J. Willis, author of Deer at Twilight: Poems from the North Cascades



“These beautiful poems honor rites of passage, moments of wonder, and the fidelity of closely nurtured friendships. Each is a gift, an opportunity to recognize and celebrate the shared grace of interconnected lives.”

—Sarah Pollock, Professor Emerita, journalism and English, Mills College



“In this lovely collection of poems, Marilyn McEntyre once again uses her keen sense of observation and exceptional wordsmithing to bring us moments worthy of pause and reflection. Each poem invites us into a place of spaciousness, awareness, and reverence while allowing us to consider and appreciate the emotions we share through the ups and downs of a lifetime. From eulogies to births to anniversary celebrations, McEntyre’s Occasions reminds us of what it means to be fully alive.”

—Marcia Meier, Author and Publisher, Weeping Willow Books



“Deep calls to deep in this book. If you don't have occasions that match the ones that inspired these wise, fierce, and gentle poems, you'll just have to invent them! Before I finished the book, I knew exactly which of my friends and family members needed to hear each grace-filled poem.”

—Shirley H. Showalter, former president of Goshen College and author of Blush: A Mennonite Girl Meets a Glittering World

From the Publisher