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Hearts on Pilgrimage: Poems & Prayers
“I’ve no chisel but this pen chipping at paper like stone” begins Hearts on Pilgrimage, but what a chisel author Jody L. Collins wields in this exquisitely sculpted collection of quiet poems that bring comfort, contemplation, and gratitude in difficult times. Her poetry echoes the seasons, from winter’s dormancy and spring’s new life to summer’s exuberant growth and the fall harvest, looking through the lens of a physical world that also mirrors our interior lives.
Whether it’s picking autumn raspberries, listening to a violent thunderstorm, witnessing the first flight of a chickadee, or contemplating the memory of an absent father, Collins invites us to slow down and notice the extraordinary everyday moments in our journeys with nature, Christianity, spirituality, and family.
Whether it’s picking autumn raspberries, listening to a violent thunderstorm, witnessing the first flight of a chickadee, or contemplating the memory of an absent father, Collins invites us to slow down and notice the extraordinary everyday moments in our journeys with nature, Christianity, spirituality, and family.
106 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
3 people want to read
About the author
Jody L. Collins
4 books20 followersJody Collins is retired from 20 plus years of teaching and when she's not at her desk writing, enjoys spending time with her children and grandchildren. She and her husband call the Seattle area home where she marvels at the birds and messes about in the garden. She's been writing since Smith-Corona typewriters graced the desk of her eighth grade typing class, but nowadays you can find her poetry and reflections at www.jodyleecollins.com.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 5, 2021
A few years ago I came across the notion of a “village poet.” Laura Lundgren writes of writing for small audiences, moving away from the “popularity contest” of social media to “to meet[ing] other writers...read[ing] their pieces and cheer[ing] on their work.” She continues, saying, “community is not built by outdoing one another in talent but by outdoing one another in love. I try to ‘do unto others’ as I would have them do unto me by reading their work, giving specific praise to things I love, and honoring the writer’s talent and sincere faith.” Jody Collins is one of those excellent village poets, with a small but meaningful circle, in many ways richer than what can be found by famous writers. Her poetry focuses on the small things, the daily life in her “village,” but contains the infinite in its finitude.
“Committing to discovery” (from “Prayers on Paper”) describes the posture of these poems. No moment is too mundane, no instance unnoticeable: “Babies come in lumpy boxes, all folded porcelain pudge.” (“A Gift”) Birdsong, “Doing Dishes in the Dark,” snowfall, all have glimmers of the divine. Here, Collins captures the connection of spirituality and daily life, particularly during a stationary time such as lockdown: “We move on. We are held.” (“Thresh Hold”) The interplay of the journey and the stillness, the both-and of the Christian life.
I’m a sucker for anything themed with the four seasons, or as Collins calls the changing leaves, “a sorcery of sunshine and seasons.” (“Alchemy”) In the final poem, the humorous “What My Grandkids Will Say About Me on Oprah,” Collins reveals how she wants to be remembered: “my best qualities were the way I delighted in the world….” I've heard folks use "exhale" to describe something refreshing. I'd call Hearts on Pilgrimage an "inhale," like the first warmth of spring (or, if you're a cold-weather person like myself, that first brisk chill on the late summer breeze). It was invigorating rather than relaxing, something that made me want to get up and make--not strive, not work, exactly, but create something with my own hands.
-----
“Create something with your hands,
occupy the space in which you live.
….Find a space of quiet, if
not without, within, deep breaths
moving you to a spacious place…”
From “How to Write a Poem”
“Conversation”
What did I do to deserve this? is the wrong ask.
Because you didn’t.
Do anything.
There is no quid pro quo/cash economy in this wide
invisible, Kingdom-filled world. The sunlight searching
between oak leaves, the slant of green on the birdbath,
chime of silver in the breeze. It’s all gift.
Like the sloppy kiss of a two-year-old or an unexpected
letter in the mail, you are worth surprising.
Don’t quibble with your questions, paint your Creator
God as an if/then Savior. He is a because/when God.
Because you are mine, I will pour out my gracelings
when I want, to whom I want.
Just look up from time to time and say thanks.
That is always the correct reply.
“Recipe for Awakening”
Stir together singular,
disparate syllables.
Salt tears. Dry yeast.
Mix with water (no blood yet)
but sweat. And all those tears.
Beat, not with a spoon--convex
form no match for the fear held
in its hand--but carefully stir
the sifted self, Savior, kneaded
on a board until the dough
pulls away.
Cover loosely with cloth,
place in a battered space
until deliverance is complete.
Let rise.
Form into one life, resurrected.
-----
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The Amazon link isn't working, so here it is.
“Committing to discovery” (from “Prayers on Paper”) describes the posture of these poems. No moment is too mundane, no instance unnoticeable: “Babies come in lumpy boxes, all folded porcelain pudge.” (“A Gift”) Birdsong, “Doing Dishes in the Dark,” snowfall, all have glimmers of the divine. Here, Collins captures the connection of spirituality and daily life, particularly during a stationary time such as lockdown: “We move on. We are held.” (“Thresh Hold”) The interplay of the journey and the stillness, the both-and of the Christian life.
I’m a sucker for anything themed with the four seasons, or as Collins calls the changing leaves, “a sorcery of sunshine and seasons.” (“Alchemy”) In the final poem, the humorous “What My Grandkids Will Say About Me on Oprah,” Collins reveals how she wants to be remembered: “my best qualities were the way I delighted in the world….” I've heard folks use "exhale" to describe something refreshing. I'd call Hearts on Pilgrimage an "inhale," like the first warmth of spring (or, if you're a cold-weather person like myself, that first brisk chill on the late summer breeze). It was invigorating rather than relaxing, something that made me want to get up and make--not strive, not work, exactly, but create something with my own hands.
-----
“Create something with your hands,
occupy the space in which you live.
….Find a space of quiet, if
not without, within, deep breaths
moving you to a spacious place…”
From “How to Write a Poem”
“Conversation”
What did I do to deserve this? is the wrong ask.
Because you didn’t.
Do anything.
There is no quid pro quo/cash economy in this wide
invisible, Kingdom-filled world. The sunlight searching
between oak leaves, the slant of green on the birdbath,
chime of silver in the breeze. It’s all gift.
Like the sloppy kiss of a two-year-old or an unexpected
letter in the mail, you are worth surprising.
Don’t quibble with your questions, paint your Creator
God as an if/then Savior. He is a because/when God.
Because you are mine, I will pour out my gracelings
when I want, to whom I want.
Just look up from time to time and say thanks.
That is always the correct reply.
“Recipe for Awakening”
Stir together singular,
disparate syllables.
Salt tears. Dry yeast.
Mix with water (no blood yet)
but sweat. And all those tears.
Beat, not with a spoon--convex
form no match for the fear held
in its hand--but carefully stir
the sifted self, Savior, kneaded
on a board until the dough
pulls away.
Cover loosely with cloth,
place in a battered space
until deliverance is complete.
Let rise.
Form into one life, resurrected.
-----
Disclaimer: I received an ARC of the book in exchange for an honest review.
The Amazon link isn't working, so here it is.
January 25, 2021
Sarah Clarkson's book Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures and Transforming Power of a Reading Life inspired me to incorporate more poetry in my life when I read it last year. So, when Jody Collins' book "Hearts on Pilgrimage" was announced, I quickly jumped at the chance to read an early copy!
This read can be as quick or slow as you'd like it to be--part of the beauty of not only poetry, but where each of us as readers are at in life when we pick it up.
Collins is a PNW-based author, and I could so relate to so much of her imagery; I've experienced much the same myself, though she expresses it much more eloquently than I. (And of course I can't forget the beauty of a cup of tea, which she and I both appreciate so well.)
"Hearts on Pilgrimage" is a thoughtful, eloquent collection of poems on a wide variety of topics (which I appreciate both as it holds my interest, and it exhibits Collins' skills as a poet). Very happily recommended.
I received an eARC of the book from the author. All opinions are my own.
This read can be as quick or slow as you'd like it to be--part of the beauty of not only poetry, but where each of us as readers are at in life when we pick it up.
Collins is a PNW-based author, and I could so relate to so much of her imagery; I've experienced much the same myself, though she expresses it much more eloquently than I. (And of course I can't forget the beauty of a cup of tea, which she and I both appreciate so well.)
"Hearts on Pilgrimage" is a thoughtful, eloquent collection of poems on a wide variety of topics (which I appreciate both as it holds my interest, and it exhibits Collins' skills as a poet). Very happily recommended.
I received an eARC of the book from the author. All opinions are my own.
January 26, 2021
Poets have a way of seeing the world, and my favorites find a poem hiding behind every green tree and through every open door. They continually encounter the transcendent in the ordinary and according to Dorothy Sayers, “can’t go to bed without making a song about it.” Thanks be to God for that persistent song-making, especially when it shows up in wonders like Jody Collins’s Hearts on Pilgrimage: Poems & Prayers.
Organized around the seasons of the year, the collection offers a generous five dozen poems in four scenes plus a curtain call. When Jody asks, “What can you hear in a winter sky?” my heart responds by listening hard into the “sound of sunlight” with its “accompanying chill” that today has superseded even the woodstove’s best efforts. (30)
Collins’s poetry bears witness to a generative life off the page, a mind invested in pondering “the possibility of God placing each speck of us just so,” (46) and a face poised for “the sloppy kiss of a two-year-old.” And since “thanks is always the correct reply,” (53) I’ll say it now:
Thank you, Jody!
Organized around the seasons of the year, the collection offers a generous five dozen poems in four scenes plus a curtain call. When Jody asks, “What can you hear in a winter sky?” my heart responds by listening hard into the “sound of sunlight” with its “accompanying chill” that today has superseded even the woodstove’s best efforts. (30)
Collins’s poetry bears witness to a generative life off the page, a mind invested in pondering “the possibility of God placing each speck of us just so,” (46) and a face poised for “the sloppy kiss of a two-year-old.” And since “thanks is always the correct reply,” (53) I’ll say it now:
Thank you, Jody!
January 8, 2021
My New Year's resolution is to find, and sometimes chase, beauty in the darkness. This is why I enjoyed Hearts on Pilgrimage by Jody L. Collins. This morning with a tumbler of hot coffee in my hand and a toddler on my lap, I was drawn to the winter section of Collins’ beauty of a book of poems. January Bird, Slow, and Sabbath on the Page, Winter are a few of the poems that I savored in the early hours. I recommend this little book of poetry that echoes the seasons and invites the reader into the journey of the invisible kingdom.
January 15, 2021
I got to read an early copy of this book and to write an endorsement. Now I've purchased my own copy, and my opinion hasn't changed at all. One of my favorite poems is the last one, "What My Grandkids Will Say About Me on Oprah." It's a good poetry prompt. :-)
September 13, 2021
I loved this book of poetry so much that I am reading through a second time. Jody's beautiful expressions brought smiles many times, made me want to ponder many things for a while and most wonderfully, brought moments of peacefulness into my heart and mind.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews