Indeed Jasmine is a collection of poems that are verbal paintings, art of the particular, in which visualized thought and sensory language are born out of nothing--the place where the luminous intersects the obscure. Each poem experienced carries the reader through a journey of emotions and draws one in again and again in a fraternal embrace. These painterly poems celebrate life through the lens of family, the natural world, the spiritual world, and express how it feels to be human through the gamut of joy, suffering, and longing. Whether it be haiku, ode, elegy, lyric, or narrative, the poet invites the reader into a world of poetic conversations that vacillate between epiphany, mystery, despair, and exaltation. Each vignette is chock-full of personal witnessing. As the poet confronts grief and human relationships, lauds beauty and the enigma of the natural world, and raises philosophical questions, these poetic songs delight, enlighten, and draw the reader into a deeper understanding of the wonderment of being alive.
Industry Reviews
“Each poem in Deborah Gerrish’s stunning new book is a poem of praise that lifts reader as well as writer. Gerrish’s recognition of the imperfection of the human world is held in a heart filled with grace. And oh, the language—a feast of gorgeous, unexpected descriptions. ‘Beauty is the breath of stars,’ the poet writes. She has breathed such beauty onto every page.”
—Donna Baier Stein, author and founder of Tiferet Journal
“‘Let every breath praise,’ counsels Deborah in poems that explore the natural world, spirituality, and family relations with intimate intensity and musical elegance. She lifts the ‘cover of bereavement’ to learn resilience from scars and reverence from brokenness. Indeed Jasmine is a testament to faith sustained through ardent observation; horses, oaks, egrets, ‘dust caked’ beneath fingernails, and the baba ganoush of the old country become ‘the weight / of wet ink on the page,’ a luminous stay against ‘mortality’s freight.’”
—Mihaela Moscaliuc, author of Cemetery Ink
“Indeed Jasmine offers wonderful imaginative leaps and narrative surprises—‘Pure Mathematics’ features Einstein and turns out to be about a cat that watches The Voice, and ‘Summer Fly’ stars just that, before rising to an entirely different place. The collection shines with metaphysical contemplation and pungent evocations of place, both of them buoyed by generous portions of music, humor, grief, and hope.”
—Ellen Doré Watson, author of Pray Me Stay Eager
“Gerrish beautifully brings together different forms of poetry to express words that typically remain deep inside a person. Her poems draw out the vast array of human emotions in a manner that leaves the reader with a more profound sense of both his or her inner reflections and outer relationships. I invite you to engage these poems as a way to stir up your spirit.”
—Jeffrey Lee, senior pastor, New Providence Presbyterian Church
