Elizabeth Barrette > Quotes

“Twilight Surprise” poem:

“The sky burns down,
A rim of coals glowing gold and red,
Limned with orange again
And kissed with hints of pink.
The clouds reflect tangerine and plum,
Overshadowing the silent glory.
Darkness and light,
Balanced upon this equinox,
Dance together like old lovers …
… and beget beauty.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, From Nature's Patient Hands

“Campfire Companions” poem:

“What a longing they touched in me! Ah,
would that I could lose myself in the wilderness,
become a ghost of smoke and shadow,
moving so subtly through the lucid moonlight
that all my edges wore away.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, From Nature's Patient Hands

“Wondering When the Strings Will Snap” poem:

“The marigolds herald autumn’s colors already
In their sun-shrine faces, iconographic
Floral worship of their distant deity -- yet they
Die at the first touch of frost, unlike chrysanthemums,
The true flowers of fall.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, From Nature's Patient Hands

“Alpenglow”:
“Even the rainbow never dreamed of this:
The touch of lastlight on snowy shoulders,
The kiss of dawn on crystal lips,
A rush of rarest red welling up to fill the mighty sky
With splendor.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, From Nature's Patient Hands

“A Tangible Reminder”:
“Underfoot rustling unsilent leaves
Crackle electric ecstasy
Spice the autumn air,
A tangible reminder
That death can be a glory.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, From Nature's Patient Hands

“From the book From Nature’s Patient Hands by Elizabeth Barrette (“The Nature of Poetry, and Vice Versa” section):
” Walk as if nothing is chasing you. Watch as if nothing is afraid of you. Write as if you have nothing else in the universe to do.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, From Nature's Patient Hands

“Water in the Desert”:
“No desolation is so total
that it cannot contain somewhere,
concealed and singing,
a drop of life.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, From Nature's Patient Hands

“Be aware of disenfranchised grief. This happens when the people around a mourner trivialize the loss, or the mourner feels like they can’t talk about their loss for whatever reason. Disenfranchised grief adds insult to injury. It also increases the risk of more things going wrong, like complicated grief. It is important to respect the wounds of loss, both in ourselves and in others. Don’t downplay a loss that grieves someone else, and don’t let other people belittle yours either.”
― Elizabeth Barrette, Llewellyn's 2024 Witches' Companion: A Guide to Contemporary Living