Alive in This World - Pamela Haines

Whether on a crowded trolley, in a little neighborhood park with its towering sycamores, at a community garden or around neglected public spaces, there is life abundant-full of hope, delight and awe on the one hand, heartache and loss on the other.

Mostly composed in a diverse urban neighborhood of Philadelphia, this collection of poetry, Alive in This World, is organized into three sections. The first, A Home with the Trees, explores a relationship with the trees as the poet gets to know them-in wonder, growing understanding, grief and gratitude. In Commuter Encounters, intimate contact with strangers on a trolley commute and time spent on city bus and regional rail routes invites reflection on humanity, connection and justice. In the final section, A Home with the Earth, the soil is a medium for meditations on nourishment, and how loving small city green spaces can provide big gifts.

How do we make meaning of what we see? How can it illuminate our understanding-of ourselves and of the world we inhabit together? How does it change us? These closely-observed and big-hearted poems are all about relationship, providing not only a picture or a story, but a window to new possibilities.

The knowledge that there may be a poem awaiting us anywhere is a call to pay closer attention to life, to not let the world go by unnoticed. Bringing a clear eye, an open heart, and a quest for intimacy with a few small city blocks and life on a public commute can call us into engagement with the biggest issues of our times. It may even help with gaining courage and perspective for the road ahead.