Mercy in the Western Province is enriched to have poets in our midst. They call us to pause and make of our living a prayer. Two of these gifted women brought some of their work to publication recently; Mary Lee with, Bloom and Rose Moran with, Meadow of the Spell. Both write here of the inspiration that drew them to write.

Mary Lee shares: The poems in Bloom have been inspired by a combination of experiences and life events such as love, loss, ministry, nature’s beauty and loving parents.

Mary Lee and her poems “Bloom”

One thing I wanted to avoid when compiling the manuscript was simply grouping the poems entirely in a thematic scheme. I thought it better to “thread” the various types of poems throughout the book. Overtly religious poems were likewise threaded into the collection. To isolate them would be, to say that they are something set apart, when in fact I see the life of faith as a life that grapples with Biblical narrative and character—even supposition and theology—while walking the dog, making a sandwich, or travelling on the bus. They appear throughout the collection to suggest this sort of integration.

Kevin Higgins writes in the Galway Advertiser, February 9th:
Bloom, the debut poetry collection by Mary Lee stands out because her intelligent poems are not expressions of some retentive scepticism, but belief of an overtly Christian variety, and how that belief intersects with a world in which such things as Hello magazine and crack cocaine exist. [From] poems [about] her recently deceased Mother. ‘Inventory’ is particularly strong: “Every time we say/goodbye, I smell the surge/of your extravagant love.” Her use of the word “extravagant” is perfect in the context and proof she is indeed a poet.  Bloom is available from: Matthew James Publishing; Cormican’s bookshop, Roscommon; and Charlie Byrne’s bookshop, Galway.

Rose Moran writes of her work Meadow of the Spell:
During a directed retreat in the early 1980’s as I walked in the summer greenery I was overtaken by a feeling of being at-one with everything around me, with all of earth and all within my own being. It was what I might call an incarnational moment, often repeated, but never with quite the same impact as in the original, non-forgettable experience. The practice of Meditative Self Presence at Eckhart House helped me to reflect on the original graced moment. It all has something to do with how I began honouring it, in a poetic way and accounts for one strand in the kind of writing I offered for publication, particularly in my most recent work: Meadow of the Spell.

Rose Moran

Alan McMonagle in www.virtualwriter.net writes:
Celebration. This is one of the first words that comes to mind after reading and reflection upon the poems in Meadow of the Spell, Rose Moran’s third published collection. Some other words that quickly arrive include beauty, nature, colour, fragrance. Mountains, rivers, trees, stones. For here we have a poet who takes delight in bearing witness to the physical world about her. Acknowledging the abundant earth seems to be her calling. And sharing all that she encounters her poetic mission.

  Meadow of the Spell being read by Máire Nolan

My first Publication: From Dawn through Dark: Reflections for the Celtic/Liturgical Year offers what were sometimes called communion reflections but it also has pieces arranged around scripture stories and religious heritage.  In Echo Fields, dedicated to family, home place and characters remembered from childhood, it’s as if, in retrospect, I am asking myself: Who am I?

Books are available at Lapwing Poetry

Two Books of Poems: Meadow of the Spell and Bloom

Mary Lee rsm & Rose Moran rsm
Western Province