Dream Catcher: Selected Poems of Lynn Kernan Now Available!


 

 

 
I'm thrilled to announce the long awaited publication of the first collection of poetry by beloved W. Virginia poet Lynn Kernan (1934-2004), edited by Charlie Hertan. Lynn's lush, moving and beautiful poetry invites many rereadings, offering everything from spiritual sustenance, to aesthetic rapture, to a profoundly visionary eye for nature, art, and the human condition.
 
To order, send $12+$3 postage to: Charles Hertan, PO Box 60433, Florence, MA 01062. To order online via Paypal, deposit to account name cehertan@rcn.com. Quantity discount available.

Zen Manual

by Lynn Kernan

If you sit still enough:
you can see the earth spin;
each separate color a hummingbird
S.O.S.’s in frantic flight;
the Navajo patterns lightning scrawls
racing down to strike.
 
If you sit long enough you can:
learn how a willow cutting becomes
a tree of life;
watch the Mississippi River
eat out its own mouth;
observe how a priceless pearl is spun
around a grain of grit.

 
If you sit quietly enough
you can hear night crawlers groan
as they bulldoze earth;
the hiss of falling stars, God’s breath;
the rustle of rust blooms opening
to clog the cannon’s mouth.

 

From Dream Catcher: Selected Poems by Lynn Kernan, edited by Charlie Hertan, The Bunny and the Crocodile Press, Washington, D.C., 2006. Zen Manual Copyright 2006 by Charlie Hertan.