The Poetry of Grief, Gratitude, and Reverence

A new anthology from the editor of the bestselling Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy.

Signposts on a journey through the darkest and brightest moments of our lives, the poems gathered here are explorations of loss, of thanksgiving, of transformation. Some show a path forward and others simply acknowledge and empathize with where we are, but all are celebrations of poetry's ability to express what seemed otherwise inexpressible, to touch deep inside our hearts — and also pull ourselves out of our selves and into greater connection with the world around us.

Includes poems by
Rainer Maria Rilke, Robert Frost, Elizabeth Bishop, Czeslaw Milosz, Seamus Heaney, Billy Collins, Joy Harjo, Danusha Lameris, Ada Limon, Kevin Young, Arthur Sze, Ellen Bass, Li-Young Lee, Natasha Trethewey, and many more. The editor also includes an essay on appreciative attention and links to guided meditations for select poems, offering us a chance to have an even deeper experience of reflection.

"This beautiful and poignant poetry will reach places in your mind and heart that you didn't know existed. Your life will be enriched once you've cracked open its pages and drunk from its words of beauty and anguish." Joanne Cacciatore, PhD, author of Bearing the Unbearable, Grieving Is Loving, and Bearing the Unbearable: A Guided Journal for Grieving

"It has been said that of all gateways to the deep mystery that is our true home, none is so immediate and potent as grief. Grief itself is wisdom, calling us back to who we really are. The braiding of fine, moving, and readable poems gathered in this beautiful new anthology on grief and its sisters — gratitude and reverence — shows us clearly why. Let this wonderful collection, wisely conceived and beautifully executed, open up whatever needs to be opened, and lead us all back to the true home we've long been seeking. This is a book to treasure." Henry Shukman, author of Original Love and One Blade of Grass

"This is not a book to read and then forget on a bookshelf. It is a companion to cherish during our own moments of grief, gratitude, and awe. I will keep it close at hand." David Loy, author of Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis

John Brehm is the author of four books of poems, Sea of Faith, Help Is On the Way, No Day at the Beach, and Dharma Talk. He has also published a book of essays, The Dharma of Poetry: How Poems Can Deepen Your Spiritual Practice and Open You to Joy, which is a companion to his bestselling anthology, The Poetry of Impermanence, Mindfulness, and Joy. His poems have appeared in Poetry, Ploughshares, The Southern Review, New Ohio Review, The Sun, The Gettysburg Review, The Writer's Almanac, The Norton Introduction to Literature, Best American Poetry, and many other journals and anthologies. He lives in Portland, Oregon.