Review by Andrew Killick of ‘A Stake in the Ground’ Poetry Collection
Review by Andrew Killick
‘A Stake in the Ground’
Drawing it out of the envelope and turning it over in my hands, then dipping in, it does my heart good to come across a book like this one, with its well-wrought poems encountering subjects of life and the spiritual, nicely presented, and here in New Zealand.
You have the key –
unlock the mystery.
…
Fill up the oil,
light the burner.
This ‘anthology of spiritually-minded poems’ has emerged from a writing group that had its inception in the first decade of the 2000s and still meets on a semi-regular basis.
the universe
curves around
all things
like a
(
and a
)
‘We come,’ the introduction tells us, ‘from a range of backgrounds and experiences. Our spiritual roots are varied… But we share a common sense of a bigger reality. We write about lots of things, but underneath it somewhere is that strong, or faint, sense of mystery.’
Today I went looking for my soul.
I found it in a coil of rope,
Amongst the names of the 11 poets represented are a few that may be familiar to the Spiritual Growth Ministries community. ‘I've read some of the poems,’ says Kathryn Overall-Cass in an email asking if I’d like to do a review, ‘and they seem to invite a contemplative spaciousness.’
and there is a small fire within me,
A church of light
and shadow in constant motion.
I find subtlety there, accessibility, humour, the stuff of life, times of observance and observation. I note down a few of my favourite fragments.
I was taught to read
And give the shirt off my back.
The lovely cover image comes from Amanda Keogh. The title comes from the poem ‘Construction’ by Adrienne Jansen – a piece about leaving safe places, but keeping something familiar – the violin, the blue kettle, the pencil, and the book – nearby.
Your soul is a space
for great flocks of kotuku
to rise up
Everyday ordinary things, things that have poetry in them. Anchor points.
The poet Chü-i moved house
to have a view of ten pine trees.
So here we have fellow sojourners, seers to help us see, perhaps to slow down a little, and notice.
It is in interruption
that water makes a sound.
…
In the deep places
water is whole
and silent.
Poetry, like the spiritual, weaves its way through life. Poems are way-markers along the path. Poetry is always there, sometimes inconspicuously, phrasing itself, waiting to be noticed.
The gap between
a bird wing dipping low
and the deep water
Waiting in the margins. Waiting to emerge.
particles of a whole wide world
en route some place or other – pausing
here in particular
Once put into words, spoken or written, it stands witness, a small monument, a this-ness in time and space, to say we were here, we existed (thank God), and we noticed; feet in soil, head in air. A stake in the ground.
Waiting for me to respond
To that unasked question
Which invites us closer
Than either of us has ever dared.
Poets featured (alphabetically, and in the order in which their fragments appear in this review): Martin de Jong, Trish Harris, Adrienne Jansen, Amanda Keogh, Judy McMillan, Anne Powell, Peter Rawnsley, Miriam Richardson, Barbara Sampson, Wendy Vink, Michael Watson.
Titahi Bay Writing Group, featuring four of the contributors to A Stake in the Ground.
Left to right: Adrienne Jansen, Peter Rawnsley, Judy McMillan and Anne Powell
A Stake in the Ground is published by Marmac Media, $15,
Available from www.marmacmedia.com
Reviewer, Andrew Killick lives in Tahawai with his wife, Anna (also a poet). Creatively, he works in the areas of photography, poetry and prose, as well as various multimedia forms. Professionally, he works as an editor and book production specialist, and is the publishing manager at Castle Publishing.
