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Overview
Over a span of nearly seven decades, educator, artist, leading public speaker, visionary world traveler, and political activist Sylvia Payne Tillitt expressed her unique and compassionate vision of life in poems, rich in the spirituality of everyday life, now included in Threads of Life: A Collection. Although she became a woman of cosmopolitan interests in the arts, education, politics, and world travel, she was born in 1915 in Coachella, California, a small desert town where date palms shaded the family dairy.
At an early age, she began to take notes on those important events in her life, reflecting her lifelong journey as a spiritual person. Sylvia felt compelled to share the varied perspectives of her journey in her poetry and photographs, as she traveled the world, raised her two children, and participated fully in the civic life of her hometown. In her poetry, she focuses on the spiritual beauty of the earth, the grandeur of mountains, and the awe-inspiring vast African Plains, among other topics.
With her own imaginative imprint, Threads of Life offers Sylvia’s unique interest in all aspects of life in poetry and photographs.
The music is stilled,
The mind is at rest,
Peace unending, the eternal guest.
Warming in the afterglow of love,
The family stands;
Their outstretched hands
Filled with gems of remembered joys.
The whale’s tooth, delicately traced,
The barbed wit, subtly placed,
Perceptive views, the scholar’s bent
Cathedral spires, the Holy Rood,
Contemplation, where Martyrs stood.
Stay, O Man!
The music is not stilled,
The tones are only muted
Anticipating their new release.
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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781458207760 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Abbott Press |
| Publication date: | 02/06/2013 |
| Pages: | 130 |
| Product dimensions: | 8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.34(d) |
Read an Excerpt
Threads of Life
A CollectionBy Sylvia Payne Tillitt
Abbott Press
Copyright © 2013 Sylvia Payne TillittAll right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4582-0776-0
Chapter One
People Bill 6
Boyce 7
Recollection 8
Sandy 9
Sada 11
The Child 12
The Weaver 13
To John 14
To My Dad 15
Bill
Borne by winds
Scattering light and shadow
Mid rays of hope
Piercing shifting clouds
That reflect the joy
Of a soul released.
Viewing anew
The palm-lined road
Hidden now by the
Frenzied crush of many
Observing the naked rocks
In the river's bed
Once hidden by rushing waters.
Upward soars
The unfettered Spirit
Seeing once more "The Lady"
Resting quietly
In the cradle of Creation.
Peace at last
Found in the limitless boundaries
Of God's love.
© 23 December 1990
His light will shine
In a new Place
His caring ways
New scenes will embrace
The quiet wit
Reflects in Another's face.
Enduring faith
Brought strength to those
Whose vision was obscured.
Earthly tasks now have ceased.
Spirits soar
With the joyful sound
Of a soul released
To Life unbound.
© 8 July 1993
Recollection
The music is stilled,
The mind is at rest,
Peace unending, the eternal guest.
Warming in the afterglow of love,
The family stands;
Their outstretched hands
Filled with gems of remembered joys.
The whale's tooth, delicately traced,
The barbed wit, subtly placed,
Perceptive views, the scholar's bent
Cathedral spires, the Holy Rood,
Contemplation, where Martyrs stood.
Stay, O Man!
The music is not stilled,
The tones are only muted
Anticipating their new release.
© 28 March 1984
Sandy
The heart
Is full of tears
When the messenger
Bears the news
Of a friend held dear.
Lives were made rich
By his shared gifts
Songs that soared
Melodies of sweet timbre
To quiet the weary spirit
Hidden humor
Made light the load
The questing mind
Led to realms unknown.
Rest, dear friend
You are at Home.
© 16 October 1993
Sada
Still lies the needle
The thread is spent
Beauty remains to reflect
The shining light of faith
Touching all
Who linger in its rays.
Sensitive to her fellow-man
Forgiving those
Who forgot to be kind
A quick smile
The ripple of laughter
Lightening the load
As she bent to her task.
Deftly the needle
Pursued the artist's chosen course
Completing the path
That led to infinite peace
At the end of the way.
© 9 July 1992
The Child
The joy of teaching
Is often lost
In a sea of words
Tossed in waves
Of emotional stress
Extraneous views
So vehemently pressed
Strain the senses
Of the teacher possessed
With the care and skill
To lead the child
Through paths as yet unknown
His quest for knowledge to
fulfill.
The child,
He stands at the door
Eager eyes
Cast questioningly about
This uncharted way
He's set to explore
His roving gaze
Upon the teacher falls
And stays
Will this be the one
To give wings to his mind
To chart a course
To foster his enduring curiosity?
Confidently he enters
Alert to the center
Of which he is part
Unaware of the sounds of the sea
That churn the waves
To a frightening height
That lash at the teacher erudite.
He seeks only the glow
Of a world full of others
With a passion to know
And of a guide
Who sees the child
As the joy of teaching.
© 27 July 1987
Spinner of yarns
Revealing skeins of life
As the shuttle
Artfully passes through
The follow warp.
The warmth of love
Guides the weaver's hand
Tracing anew
History's tangled path
Lighting again the unknown way
Of those sturdy souls
Whose footsteps led them
Far astray.
Quickly passes the shuttle
A new skein comes
The waiting warp to imbue.
© 18 February 1990
To John
The work of the Lord
Is filled with strife
It offers not, an easy life
But, joy unbounded
Does prevail
When a human soul
Pierces the veil
Of Man's obliqueness.
It experiences the glory
Of God's welcoming call
So keep the light burning brightly
To your faith hold tightly
And go forth with courage
To serve the Lord
Our God Almighty.
© 1 November 1985
To My Dad
I've known you for nineteen years,
You've been my help and chum.
And though now the end has come,
Be brave and have no fears.
God has watched and guided you,
And you have been so good, so true.
There have been times when we misunderstood,
And times when we haven't done as we should,
But all's forgotten and though you
Walk no more the paths of men,
May God be with you 'till we meet again.
© Sylvia Payne 21 February 1935
Chapter Two
Places Amarna 20
Beijing Requiem 21
Artist's Proof 22
Country Garden 25
En Route to Cheung Chau Island 27
Evening At Dana Point 28
Hong Kong Gardens 29
Hanauma Bay 31
Nightfall On the Deck 32
On Going to Lompoc 33
Summer Solstice 35
West Lake 37
Yellow Mountain 39
The Mountains on Sunday 40
Shards of time
Lie scattered on the plain
Silent forms
Stand unadorned
By human vanity.
Broken lives
Rest soundlessly
Hidden from prying vision
Mute reminders of dimming splendors
Wrapped in mists of memory.
Shimmering tones
Of ethereal beauty
Released from invisible Aeolian strings
Waft through the mists
Whispering hauntingly
Amarna, O Eternal Amarna.
© 6 August 1988
Beijing Requiem
Earth stirs
Winter's chill has faded
Returning warmth
Sends waves of hope
Surging through the heart.
Winds of approaching Spring
Warm dormant dreams
Of those whose minds
Seek the bonds of freedom
Expectant eyes
Fill with glowing light
Awakened hopes
Quicken the steps
Of those who seek the joys
Of an unfettered spirit.
Abruptly
The chill returns
A cacophony of voices
Reject the bitter challenge
Of returning power
Harsh bursts of fire
Signal imminent retreat.
Quiet
Lies the square
No sound
Of eager feet
Pressing on toward liberty
No shining eyes
Scanning the horizon
For freedom's beckoning light
Only an idle wind
Rustles through the dust
Of crushed hopes
Lying there.
© 8 August 1989
Artist's Proof
Desolate,
Lonely,
Bravely resisting
Time's insidious tentacles.
Greyed timbers,
Shattered floors,
Shadowy corners
Filled with the gossamer
Of fragile dreams.
Shifting sands,
Retreating seas,
The haunting cry
Of birds in flight.
The searching soul
Turns yet again,
Its reluctant eye
Caught by
A resurgence of hope.
Delicate fragrance
Comes creeping,
The weathered boards
Covered in triumphant beauty.
Arise Dear Heart!
Upswept with scandent joy,
The greyed timbers
Are not disconsolate.
They have but
Gone to roses.
© 4 April 1984
Pewtered walls
With warm embrace,
Cradle in love,
An old-fashioned place.
Weathered sills
Reflect the blush
Of early Spring
Sapphire spires of delphinium blue,
Thrust eagerly upward
Toward Heaven's hue.
Royally placed
Is Grandmother's cushion,
Awaiting the throning
Of an itinerant bee.
A place of memory,
Dear to the heart,
Wrought through God's Grace,
For man seeking refuge
From the world's wearying pace.
© 2 May 1986
En Route to Cheung Chau Island
Smoothly gliding
Through the restless sea
The ship follows
Its charted course
Toward a distant isle.
Twinkling lights beckon
From the approaching strand
Gentle breezes
Bring the sound
Of children's happy laughter
Evening shoppers
Fill small streets
Fishermen offer
Their day's catch
Spicy aromas
Emanating from stalls
Filled with mysterious wares
Entice meandering feet
A flurry of bicycle wheels
Giving chase to bouncing balls
Turn the adventurer's steps
Toward the idling ship.
It is time
To turn homeward
Content with the sharing
Of life in this tiny village.
© 5 October 1993
Evening At Dana Point
Winds fade,
Calm descends.
Man's frenzied spirit is arrested,
Caught in the blinding sheen
Of a sun that has spent its
course.
Fragments of color flash by,
As beach people retreat
To a distant refuge.
Eager to escape
The encroaching anonymity of
night.
Sailing ships,
Deterred from their pursuit
Of loosely chartered flight,
Reluctantly surrender their
freedom
To that beacon's compelling
light.
Bobbing sandpipers
Flirt with the teasing waters
Inching with unrestrained
measure
Toward the deserted shore.
The cliffs rest.
Renewing their resources
From those iridescent rays
Nestling under the protecting
obscurity
Of Mother Earth's chaparral.
Night descends,
Enfolding the world in a mantle
of infinite peace.
© 5 July 1986
Like flowers
Searching for the sun
The mirrored structures rise
Cerulean walls
Chastely etched
Reflect brightly
In the crystal
Of neighboring polygons
Treasured gems of history
Glisten on the city floor
Reminders of an era past.
Nature claims its space
With the soothing sounds
Of waterfalls
Nurturing miniature gardens
Symbols of Man's need
For beauty
E'en in the expanding designs
Of an ever changing world.
© 5 October 1993
Hanauma Bay
Spume reaching for the sky
Lashing barricading rocks nearby
Wind-cut lava
Spilled o'er the land
Reveals the story
Of an early Man.
Jagged peaks thrust upward
Softened with greens
As they unite with the sea
Splashes of beauty
Dot the land
Echoing songs fill the air
Noting the passage of birds
Sing o' Sing
Ye birds on the wing
Proclaim anew
The miracle of birth
In every corner
Of this vast earth.
© 28 September 1992
Nightfall On the Deck
Earth sounds are stilled
Quiet pervades
We rest
Reflecting on the day past
A zephyr wanders by
Diffusing the day's rigours
Peace returns
Night draws its curtain.
© 23 July 1988
On Going to Lompoc
Blest is he
Who serves the Lord
Who accepts the challenge
Of unfurrowed earth.
Invisible
Are the rewards
That lighten the burden
That quicken the steps
Of weary feet.
The warmth of God's love
Refreshes the spirit
Anew the steps of the disciple
Set forth toward
The eternal Goal.
© 19 January 1991
Summer Solstice
Golden poppy
Glistening cup upturned
Seeking eternal life.
Misty spires of brilliant hue
Wafting their fragrance upward
In clouds of heavenly incense
Seeking the Lord's delight.
Weathered cliffs sustaining life
In wind-tossed gypsy seeds
Clinging tight.
Silent birds' outward flight
Herald the dawn
Of a season's renewal.
Quietly lie the seas
Their jubilance repressed
Awaiting the close
Of the summer solstice.
© 15 March 1985
West Lake
Virgin growth
Shadowed by drifting clouds
Greens the low-lying hills
Encircling the West Lake calm
A triad of captive jewels
Glisten in the radiance
Of a turquoise sea
Lotus leaves bow
To the whims
Of a transient breeze
Stirring not
The sheen of the lake
Pearls of time
Reminiscent of past treasures
Gleam on the distant hills
Symbols of a nascent order
Jut sky-ward
Man's vision
Of a dawning tomorrow.
The day wanes
Lingering rays
Of an earlier glow
Rest gently
On folds of layered beauty
Transcendent peace
Cloaks the waiting world.
© 7 October 1993
Yellow Mountain
The winding way
Is long
Rolling hills
Terraced by tea
Rise above
The golden rice
Awaiting the farmer's flailing
Verdant fields of cane
Toss merrily in the breeze
While trays of yellow corn
Dot the roadside scene
Eager people
Fill this land
Anticipating the harvest
By many diligent hands.
The mountain looms ahead
Layers of beauty
Float wraith-like
Between layers of dignity
Shaped by nature
In surrealistic forms
Autumnal hues
Flow as a rainbow
O'er chiseled canyon walls
To an unseen end
Day's course is run
The glowing sun
Bows to the swirling mists
Silently they wrap the earth
In quiet peace.
© 11 October 1993
The Mountains on Sunday
Monuments of Time
Majestically they rise
O'er the earth
Winds of the world
Brush them
Scattering seeds of Creation
In their passing
Sowing palettes
Of goldenrod and purple sage
On the hillside sweeps
Scattered trees
In early Autumn dress
Fill the sunny hollows
Willows line the wandering
stream
Yon bank
Provides the place
Where a fallen giant rests.
Pinnacles of Power
What was their measure
When first on this earth
Who knows
Their span of life.
Is this their Eternity?
© 12 September 1993
(Continues...)
Excerpted from Threads of Life by Sylvia Payne Tillitt Copyright © 2013 by Sylvia Payne Tillitt. Excerpted by permission of Abbott Press. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Contents....................xvPeople....................3
Places....................17
Things....................43
Events....................69
Epilogue....................99
Notes....................105
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