On the Light Side of Darkness

By Nora Mahon Olivares

Noras poetry is a glimpse into life . She provides us with insights into realities we sometimes miss. Her poetry reflects the beautiful, terrible, and transcendent moments. She invites us to look deeply and enjoy.

Teresa Logan, Ph.D, Executive Coach, Cincinnati, Ohio

Whether she is describing a bridge in her native Ireland, coffee berries in Ethiopia, or a dusty hamlet in West Texas, Nora Mahon Olivares brings to the scene a keen eye and a flowing pen. Her energetic and often exuberant images invite the reader on an interior journey that encompasses millennial life in all its twists and tangles: homelessness in the midst of wealth, the solace of family life and friendship, antifeminism in the church, the pure pleasure of an early morning walk, catastrophes of wind and weather, the quiet pathos of ageing. On the Light Side of Darkness is a work to be read and savored.

Carol Coffee Reposa, Poet, San Antonio, Texas

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Feb 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781493167890

Book preview

Copyright © 2014 by Nora Mahon Olivares.

ISBN:      Softcover      978-1-4931-6790-6

                 eBook            978-1-4931-6789-0

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Rev. date: 01/27/2014

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris LLC

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

541844

CONTENTS

Section 1: Morning Light

1.  Leon Valley Park At 8:00 Am

2.  Weather Forecasting

3.  When You Hear The Jingle

4.  At Moments

5.  To Do Some Good

6.  This Morning

7.  On Sunday Morning

8.  Where Are You?

9.  Convention

10.  Senior Moments

11.  The Harpy

12.  The Two Palms

13.  A Child’s Query

14.  Taken By Surprise

15.  Distractions At High Mass

Section 2: Noon Shadows

16.  The Lesson

17.  Virtual Reality

18.  In An Instant

19.  Ordinary Gifts

20.  Gestures

21.  Help Me Understand

22.  Out Of The Mouths Of Babes

23.  Remembering October

24.  Waiting For Godot

25.  A Country Woman’s Wisdom

26.  One Day, One World

27.  Prodigal Love

28.  Surprising Impressions

29.  Friendship’s Fracture

Section 3: Twilight Visions

30.  Witness

31.  Distance

32.  Baffling Justice

33.  Missed Opportunity

34.  Grow Old Along With Me

35.  Fearless Love

36.  No One Writes Alone

37.  Ballagh Bridge

38.  My Mother’s Journal

39.  The Home Of Our Childhood

40.  Sanderson Summer

Also by Nora Mahon Olivares

Burials, Bridges, and Blessings (2004)

Soulscapes (2009)

Included in the following anthologies of poetry:

Poetry Now: Always & Forever (1997)

In Other Words: An American Poetry Anthology (2006)

New Texas: A Journal of Literature and Culture (2012)

Voices de la Luna (2012 & 2014)

SECTION 1

Morning Light

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LEON VALLEY PARK

AT 8:00 AM

With two grandchildren safely

lodged in school, we head for our

stroll in the park—our feet conversing

with the crunchy pebbles of the nature trail—

deer staring us down with benign disapproval

for invading their territory, birds