On Threads of Hope: Poems by Genevieve Glen, OSB
Magnificent, lucid, meticulously crafted verse
Introducing the first book of poems by Benedictine Sister Genevieve Glen. A popular hymn text writer with three collections to her credit, she also writes verse not intended for singing -- magnificent, lucid, meticulously crafted verse. Featuring 35 poems, On Threads of Hope is an impressive new resource for personal prayer, meditation and devotional reading.
Arranged according to the seasons of the liturgical year
Arranged according to the seasons of the liturgical year, the book includes sections for Christmas, Holy Week, Corpus Christi and Mary, closing with Poems for All Seasons. Readers curious about her many scriptural allusions will turn often to the biblical references and notes, a two-page section in the back.
Most poems have a regular rhyme scheme, meter and form
Though most poems have a regular rhyme scheme, meter and form, similar to her hymn texts, some move more spontaneously, with no rhyme and slightly irregular rhythms and forms. The collection includes one prose poem.
The shortest work has concentrated power in its compact form
"Hungry," inspired by 2 Corinthians 5:4, confirms the flesh's infinite appetite: "A sober moment, stark, disturbs the haze: / no feast has filled the hungry tiger yet,/nor ever will." The shortest work, "Light of the World," has concentrated power in its compact form: "Light shall ignite/the tindered earth with flesh-born/Spark."
Vivid, tactile, colorful images from nature
Like her hymns, these poems include vivid, tactile, colorful images from nature. As one reviewer said of The Listening Heart, her third hymn collection, Sister Genevieve describes features of the natural world with a geologist's precision.
Extensive section of poems for Holy Week
The extensive section of poems for Holy Week includes "Pietà," "The Vigil of the Eleven" and "The Vigil of the Myrrh-Bearing Women," three longer works that make effective Passiontide meditations. An homage to Our Lady of Sorrows, "Pietà" bids us recall and receive Mary's motherly intercession: "And so, remembering, she tends/the wounded flesh of all the human race."
Breathtaking title poem: "Walking on Water"
Her title poem, "Walking on Water," inspired by Matthew 14:28-31, closes with this breathtaking stanza: "My fingers ache for rough-hewn wood,/my ears for creak of anchor rope/but, see, I walk as if I could/cross wildest seas on threads of hope."
Words from a life saturated with Scripture
As she explains in the short introduction, these poems emerged from a life saturated with Scripture. A cloistered Benedictine nun, Sister Genevieve maintains a daily rhythm, with her community, of lectio divina and Liturgy of the Hours.
"The inward treasure house where the words of God are stored"
"These poems sprang," she explains, "often unbidden, from the inward treasure house where the words of God are stored, there to do their silent work unseen and weave themselves into unexpected patterns until they make their presence known in other words like these."
Some of the finest mystical poetry in the Church today
Much more than "other words," On Threads of Hope embodies some of the finest mystical poetry being written in the Church today. Reflecting a deep intimacy with God and Scripture, these hope-filled poems make inspiring reading any time of year.