Quicksilver of the Heart

Invite these poems to companion your heart and let them stretch your soul. Brendas spare, simple words say big things. In this very intimate collection weare offered messages of lifes mysteries in a language as clear as any fine spiritualdirection. Throbbing through the poems is her Celtic sensibility, offered in thecalm dialect of a sagacious heart bred to thrive in Newfoundland weather. Takenas talismans of transformation, these poems beg rereading, like stories retold overstrong tea to take off the chill and to strengthen the heart. We are whispered secretcourage to engage life, open-eyed and ready. The stanzas give voice to the quietsatisfactions of honest, open-hearted awareness and offer a travelers guide into asoulscape both delicate and wild. From a knowing of winters graced grit to the fullout exhilaration of the greening again spring, Brenda opens to us the experience ofa woman stepping into elder-hood well versed in living close to the heart of things. Look, she says to us, despite any initial evidence to the contrary, small moments arethresholds into soul size transformations and no less than lifes best gift. (GabrieleUhlein OSF, author and artist, Meditations with Hildegard of Bingen)