Fall and Recovery

By Diane Prebula

Fall and Recovery is a reflection of a spiritual journey. In these poems Diane Prebula navigates the mind, emotions, and will - the soul - as well as the cr4eature in nature that surrounds us with beauty. Turning to God she finds relief, recovery, and a deeper love for Him and His creation.

These are magnificently shaped poems with an impressive lightness of spirituality. Reading them is to sense a looming presence of true feelings of everyday life, depicting the beauty through nature. This is a vivid and extraordinary book that reflects a relationship between God and our lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Borderline Publishing
• Release date: Sep 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9781936408849

Book preview

I would like to thank my husband, Tom, for helping me with the many computer issues that were starting to drag me down. I would also like to thank my mother for all of her encouragement and financial help.

Introduction

When speaking of poetry, the award winning poet, Stanley Kunitz, wrote as part of an introduction to his book, Passing Through, The craft that I admire most manifests itself not as an aggregate of linguistic or prosodic skills, but as a spiritual testimony, the sign of inviolable self consolidated against enemies within and without…

In order to master our craft we must be diligent technicians. But poetry is so much more than a clever manipulation of language. For me, poetry is an honest rendering of my journey as a spiritual being as I relate to my creator and the world in which I move.

As human beings we all share in the joys and battles, the victories and defeats of life. We must face reality—the truth—because when we don’t, we experience consequences. God never gives up on us; all these consequences are opportunities to grow, to accept reality, to face our fears—our pain.

This book is an account of my journey. Written over the last three years, it reflects my efforts to heed the call as the New Life Program Manager at City Light Home for Women and Children with Boise Rescue Mission Ministries. Women who have fallen into the hole of addictions—drugs, alcohol, depression, anxiety, self (absorption) idolatry—and a host of mental illnesses related to abuse and addiction, arrive at our City Light home to work their recovery as they learn to turn to the Lord for their life.

We’re all in recovery; the addictions are too numerous to mention here. The bottom line is always whoever or whatever we cling to (our attachments) other than our Creator, in order to numb our immediate pain, will block our growth and cause us serious, long term trouble.

Fall and recovery fills the Bible, from Genesis through Revelation. This is just another story of one person’s journey, reflecting many falls and many recoveries.

Because God is the ultimate reality and has graciously given us free will, He never forces our hand. We are free to use our space and time in any way we choose. But if we accept His free gift of new life, we are in for a spectacular adventure—we can be all that we were created to be. When we let go of the controls, we are in the hands of the One who created us. Time is short; let us choose well.

Ocean

1.

She finishes her drink—the pain of arrangements,

road and weather conditions that change daily.

With early April, the possibility

of a spring blizzard is always a risk.

And when she travels alone

she unravels in the stress of it.

Still, she anticipates the break

in the tough shell of her year—

to breathe the fragrance

of the almost unreachable core.

The weather recedes. The road clears. She steps

into the pungent mist of the Oregon ocean air.

Lifted by this and the sudden sun

glistening long streaks on the water,

she settles into the tantrum screams of gulls

claiming home where she can only visit.