Old and New Testaments

Lynn Powell

Wow. This is some seriously fine stuff.

Lynn Powell's first book of poetry (which won three awards, including the Norma Faber First Book Award) is a testament in every sense of the word. Don't bother trying to tell the Biblical literalists, however. Powell's volume focuses on the earthly, and how the spiritual relates to it; this is the kind of stuff capable of making a person understand how the physical and the spiritual are intertwined, not exclusive.

The four parts of the book go through four aspects of life (birth, sensual awakening, marriage, and death), emphasizing the beauty and harmony of each, the spiritual aspect working with, but never dominating, the physical:

“Oh God, keep me a mediocre Mary! Dilute my children's love with selfishness, let them refuse the treacherous kiss, never know the miserable cup. Make their lives long, happy, ordinary— and forgive the mother, reaching for Your hem, craving that miracle.” (“Raising Jesus”)

A wonderful book, highly recommended all around.