susan palo cherwien

poet

Photo: Paul Nixdorf

Before her passing in December of 2021, Susan Palo Cherwien wrote:

I am a poet

It seems odd to speak of myself in this way, but a poet is, I suppose, indeed what I am. It seems so much more natural to me to say that I am a singer, a baker of bread, a lover of rocks, a gardener, a grandma.

But I also have been given a love of words, a mind for questions, and eyes that notice things.

So, I write to call you over to the window, to show you what I see.

And I hope you will stop and look with me.

BRIEF Bio

the poem is a maze

The poem is a maze
it is a backward glance from loving eyes
a memory of lilacs
the soul knows the answer
the mind seeks
it is a winding staircase
down and timeless down
the mind seeks
a passionate touch
the soul knows
it is a whisper in the paling night
and the soul
the soul breathes
“come”

seven questions

Over the years, I have developed a sieve of Seven Questions through which hymntexts that I am writing must pass:

Is it true?

Is it beautiful?

Is it excellent?

Does it give God glory?

Can it bear the weight of mystery?

Is it appropriate?

Does it replace something of greater worth?