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Lynda McKinney Lambert writes spare poems and thoughtful, personal essays. She is inspired by imagery and nuances from nature. Landscape and art in her writings. She is a retired professor of fine art and humanities (Geneva College, Beaver Falls, PA).<\/p>\n
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Lynda taught a month-long Drawing and Writing course in Salzburg, Austria, each summer. She kept daily journals, and in 2002, her first book,\u00a0Concerti: Psalms for the Pilgrimage,<\/em>\u00a0was published by Kota Press.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n During the nineteen years after publishing this book, she published an additional four books.<\/p>\n Lynda returned to expand and revise that first book. The new publication is\u00a0Songs for the Pilgrimage,<\/em>\u00a0published in April 2021. The new book was edited and designed by the Dvorkin\u2019s,<\/p>\n a Denver husband & wife team (DLD Books).\u00a0 The Dvorkin\u2019s have created three of Lynda\u2019s five books.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lynda says,<\/span><\/p>\n I returned to this first book because I wanted to reveal backstories and actual journal writings. I kept detailed journals, made drawings and photos. I was finally able to do that last year during the pandemic when I was at home every day and could devote my attention and return to each of my journals to find the hidden gems that I brought to the pages in\u00a0Songs for the Pilgrimage. Poems and writings in the new book cover a period from 1988 to 2021. <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n My poems often come to me in dreams. They are dreamscapes with intense situations where there is no way out. In those dreams, I am usually in the woods or very high on mountain ledges in wintertime. I am almost always in Austria in my dreamlife.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many poems are gleaned from personal experiences when I was traveling in Europe each summer. I fashioned my experiences into poetry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In \u201cA Moment of Calm,\u201d<\/strong> I described what I witnessed as I paused to view a painting by Max Ernst on the wall in an art gallery.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cK\u00f6enigsee,\u201d<\/strong> reveals my solitary experience of being on the icy-cold lake in Germany and the ride home to my pension room in Austria that day.<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes\u201d<\/strong> is the newest poem that is located near the end of this collection.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0There is always an inner longing to be at home when traveling for long periods. Sometimes it is lonely.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Often, I imagined postcards and what I would say when sending them to friends.<\/p>\n These are short poems, small enough to fit on a postcard. They describe what I am viewing and thinking about in a variety of locations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some poems developed through my research of a particular word, idea, object, person, or place. Some lyrics are inspired by conversations with friends. Like my favorite poet, Rilke, I focus on small items and hold them up to examine them in detail.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Three poems from\u00a0Songs for the Pilgrimage.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 A Moment of Calm\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n (Homage to Max Ernst) <\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A crooked blue sun<\/p>\n in a wide sky<\/p>\n tumbles<\/p>\n through blue, green, yellow<\/p>\n Impaled<\/p>\n on spiky green stems.<\/p>\n Blackbirds squat low<\/p>\n shout at the alligator<\/p>\n resting in the dark corner<\/p>\n watching for more<\/p>\n pinks and reds in the middle.<\/p>\n A lone Dragonfly passes through<\/p>\n a painted arch<\/p>\n relaxing<\/p>\n a moment of calm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u201cK\u00f6enigsee\u201d <\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Swift winds bring low temperatures<\/p>\n clouds conceal marble mountain peaks<\/p>\n Chiffon grey skies<\/p>\n press down on clustered red-tiled roofs,<\/p>\n narrow doorways<\/p>\n slow-moving tourists<\/p>\n in K\u00f6enigsee.<\/p>\n Long ferry boats<\/p>\n glide silently<\/p>\n across the frigid green lake<\/p>\n laughing Germans sing of home<\/p>\n waves break beyond our boat.<\/p>\n In the final hour of night<\/p>\n before mountains disappear<\/p>\n my chilled body reaches downward<\/p>\n seeking shelter<\/p>\n in the next bus to Gr\u00f6dig.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cSometimes\u201d <\/strong><\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sometimes I am tense<\/p>\n I walk without looking<\/p>\n My eyes focus on stone<\/p>\n My mind a range of fears.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sometimes when I pass beyond<\/p>\n The bridge over the raging river<\/p>\n I bend fo\u200brward<\/p>\n And I forget to see the sky.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sometimes my hands push<\/p>\n Hard into my jacket pockets<\/p>\n I pull my shoulders<\/p>\n Up and thrust down my heels.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sometimes it\u2019s lonely here<\/p>\n Everything begins to look<\/p>\n Like something beyond my reach<\/p>\n Sometimes, I ache with an unknown pain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Songs for the Pilgrimage<\/em>\u00a0is available as a paperback for $17.50 and\u00a0Smashwords offers the<\/p>\n e-book version for only $7.50.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n To contact\u00a0Lynda McKinney Lambert\u00a0for more info on ordering her book, please email her at\u00a0llambert@zoominternet.net<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *<\/p>\n And here are an extra dozen haiku by Lynda for your reading enjoyment…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n full baskets blooming<\/p>\n suspend and hover across<\/p>\n spring, summer, autumn<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n pre-dawn darkness hides<\/p>\n house wrens in pink begonia<\/p>\n garden songs commence<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n curly Boston Ferns<\/p>\n surround Caladium hearts<\/p>\n spectacularly<\/p>\n \u200b*<\/p>\n <\/p>\n pure white flowers<\/p>\n growing in rich humus soil<\/p>\n free-flowing masses<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n delicate double<\/p>\n dependable begonias<\/p>\n keep evenly moist<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n water frequently<\/p>\n bright mounded geranium<\/p>\n remove dead flowers<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n tolerant colors<\/p>\n stand alone in Zen Garden<\/p>\n Corkscrew rush grow best<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n thriving Impatiens<\/p>\n three seasons of bold color<\/p>\n dense electric orange<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n graceful grass fireworks<\/p>\n variegated fountain bursts<\/p>\n flourishing Rubrum<\/p>\n <\/p>\n *<\/p>\n bold Black-eyed Susan<\/p>\n mid-summer to early fall<\/p>\n dreams with daylilies.<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n yellow star-flowers<\/p>\n fern-like silver leaves<\/p>\n chic Dusty Miller<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n lemon-coral stars<\/p>\n Sedum mounds reflect sunshine<\/p>\n plucky sunbathers<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n fuzzy tails cascade<\/p>\n red-hot cattails oscillate<\/p>\n poisonous Chenille<\/p>\n *<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" SHOWCASE – published on August 11, 2021 by Charles Portolano, editor of The Avocet and The Weekly Avocet.<\/p>\nSURPRISE BONUS:<\/span><\/h2>\n
Read Abbie Johnson Taylors REVIEW<\/span><\/h3>\n
of Songs for the Pilgrimage<\/span><\/em> Here<\/a><\/h3>\n