Description

 

A Moment’s Breath

poems by Susan Willis Johnson

A Moment’s Breath considers the questions arising from interwoven threads of the vulnerable rhythms of a marriage, the guidance and death of a father, the hope and loss of a nephew, the persistent reach for justice, the looming risk of wildfire, all sourced in love and loss and grief. These poems return again and again to the contemplative stance of surrender in the absence of answers and the seeking of a peace in the certainty of uncertainty. Following the seasons of the year through the enduring presence of place in the mountains, amid ridges and rivers, firs and pines, they reveal “a moment’s breath on earth” and invite the reader to stillness, even among the questions.

 

Early Praise

Reading Susan Willis Johnson’s A Moment’s Breath feels like a much-needed mountain retreat—spacious, reverent, dreamy and nourishing. Equal parts reflection, wonder, and offering, each poem reads like a prayer, feels like an invitation, unfolds like a film. Visually rich and aurally evocative—the sound of her kitchen, of scattered petals, crows and chickadees, the last of the geese, the clip of pliers, grief, wind…. A Moment’s Breath is a deftly crafted collection filled with radiance, hospitality and generosity. What a gift!

—M Freeman, author of The Illuminated Space: A Personal Theory & Contemplative Practice of Media Art

In her second book of poetry, A Moment’s Breath, Susan Willis Johnson walks beside us through her beloved woods and ridges along the waters of the Cle Elum River, sharing with us the quiet, peace, loss, and renewal she discovers there each day. From the collection’s first poem in which she slowly fully open[s] again, to “Sorrow” and the grief of green needles, fallen, on to “Midwinter”’s return to light, spring, and finally “Renewing Our Vows,” she shows us how she listens, sees, and grows just as the woods do, especially after devastating fire. All along these forest paths, her imagery, language, and form flow naturally and beautifully, softening our spirits and pointing to the way of love.

—Karen Gookin, author of The Hills Around Are Dust and Light

These poems are sweet and tender, full of moments of quiet beauty and the joys of living alongside the ache. They are prayers and longings rising from grief and the threat of climate chaos, while seeking solace in the natural world. They invite the reader to join a communion of the vulnerable and find sanctuary among the images.

—Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, REACE, online Abbess of Abbey of the Arts and author of over 25 books including four collections of poetry

About the Author

Susan Willis Johnson writes in the mountain town of Roslyn, Washington. She hikes daily with family and friends on trails along the Cle Elum River Valley. Serving as the spokesperson for a Roslyn grassroots citizens’ group, she collaborated to promote sustainable forestry and to protect wildlife habitat. Susan taught in the local schools and was Co-Director of the Central Washington Writing Project. She was named the 2009 Washington State Teacher of the Year. Her chapbook, The Call Home (The Poetry Box), was a finalist in the 2022 Chapbook Contest.