During National Poetry Month, I’ll scatter a few posts on poetry. Here I would like to highlight a particularly poignant poetess: Michelle Swope. Her book, Through Time’s Looking Glass: A Book of Poetry, aims to share solace from words.
Michelle has many struggles, including autism, but she loves words and her Lord. She is still a young woman, but it is a beautiful thing to see what she has learned and cherishes.
One of the intimate and satisfying things about poetry is how it joins reader and writer to share an experience or thought. It is perspective painted with brushes, sweeping or detailed.
From the back cover:
Seeking a calm moment? Longing for rest?
Enter the gentle, poignant world of poetry.
- Ponder insights borne of suffering
- Reflect on your own memories
- Enjoy the playfulness of words
- Find mercy for your days
Michelle Swope shares poems to soothe, transport, entertain, and edify, Michelle suffers from autism, a language disorder, learning disabilities, and severe mental illness. But because of a classical Christian education, Michelle loves words. She shares her own words with you in this simple collection.
It is printed through Memoria Press, which produces educational materials that emphasize truth, goodness, and beauty. (Sorry—I doubt they are open to unsolicited manuscripts!)
It is fitting for us to consider her words, her circumstances, and our Lord’s many gracious gifts. There really is solace from words and for that we can give thanks to God.