Strangers & Pilgrims

These poems express our estrangement from the heart, our longing for return, and our pilgrim journey to wholeness. Sometimes humorous, sometimes poignant, they explore the liminal space between word and silence, poetry and guided meditation. Useful for individuals and groups seeking spiritual nourishment, the book is dedicated to Mary Magdalene, the archetypal pilgrim who journeyed south of France after the death of her beloved, Jesus, to bring his illuminating consciousness to the West. The author dedicates this book to her, who "lifts us up into our fallenness." Some of the poems reflect Nonduality. Others reflect a devotional yearning for the Beloved. Some poke fun at the new age spiritual marketplace, while others are full of reverence for sacred tradition. The author advises us not to regard these as contradictions but as paradoxes. And when these poems peel away the layers of paradox, we discover that we may arrive at the goal of the pilgrimage with every step. We may breathe the divine with every inhalation. We may explore the wonders of the cosmos in this human body. The first poem embraces fear and helplessness at our present condition on earth; the rest, in various ways, respond to that despair, giving us hope and joy. The poems are rooted in earthly experience: "Get mud between your toes!" Yet they are filled with images and talismans from Hinduism, Judaism, Islam, and Christianity mystical traditions. While these poems honor the mystical journey, they remind us that the way from the mind to the heart is a single breath, received as a gift of grace. While elevating our vision beyond the stars, these poems root our flesh in the ground under our feet. They remind us that our breath always leads us back to the place where we already are, in the miracle of the present moment. Alfred K. LaMotte is a college instructor in world religions and an experienced teacher of meditation who has spent a lifetime in the dialogue between Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. He has studied with meditation masters of India and in Benedictine monasteries in Europe and the U.S. This is the author's sixth volume of poetry, his fourth with Saint Julian Press.