I have been reading Astonishments by Anna Kamienska at the suggestion of my mentor Jim Moore (author of Lightning at Dinner). A few of these poems touched specific parts of my life this week. "Small Things" so resonates with my biggest struggle this week: too many things. As she lists all the small things like laundry, sewing, slicing bread, she says "It comes out of toil out of care/out of immense fatigue in the evening/out of a tear wiped away/out of a prayer broken off in mid-word by sleep//It's not from the grand/but from every tiny thing/that grows enormous/as if Someone was building Eternity/as a swallow its nest/out of clumps of moments" Those spoke to the mother's heart within me. As did this line from "Mothers": "Mothers are the light above each head/If they suddenly departed/only empty chairs would be left" In case there are any other mothers out there who feel unappreciated as I do at times, hopefully those words will encourage us otherwise!

There are several more poems, like "A Prayer That Will Be Answered," "Emmaus," "The Empty Places, and "Annunciation," that I love as well. Although I haven't finished the book, I already count it as a favorite!