True Simply To What Is

By Heidi Jean Sewall

Poems that tiptoe through the crazy, exotic, barely discernible yet demanding messages of life in a Saturday market or on a hillside monastery, and then emerge with simple, yet poignant meanings found in branches bowed low under the weight of delicate blossoms, or discovered in the pattern of stars that we call Cassiopeia. This collection, from the author's notebooks and random travel papers, is a truthful reflection on the beautiful, and often painful, moments of an ordinary life.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hillcrest Media Group
• Release date: Mar 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9781634134729

Book preview

poems.

Acknowledgments

Mi Ae Lipe edited and designed this book. As an editor, she held the vision for this collection—an impossible task for me since my focus cannot seem to expand beyond the individual poems. These pocket poems would still be tucked away if not for Mi Ae’s creativity and her appreciation for what I am trying to express. Her design skills peek out from the pages, but her talents are much broader and more in-depth than what you see in this book. You can experience the greater scope of her creativity by going to her website: www.whatnowdesign.com.

I am grateful for Mi Ae’s thoughtful way with this project, and I am constantly inspired by the results she produced. Thank you, Mi Ae.

The cover photos were taken by my daughter, Fiona. She is a genuine artist, like many of the women (and men) in her family and ancestry. I appreciate how she sees light and objects, and wish that I possessed these talents. But it is enough that her artistic work joins with and enhances mine.

Introduction

I come from rural eastern Washington State, and an upbringing that shapes who I am and the way I write. Simple. Unadorned. As honest as I can be with