That We Have Lived At All

Marilyn Lerch writes from a vital connection with the beauty of the Earth and with a compassionate hold on the reality of both personal and community relationships. The core vision that informs her work repeatedly bursts forth with incisive images of the human world she cares about so deeply and with which she has a long history of passionate engagement. These images characterize both the insufferable folly that now threatens the commonwealth of life, and her unwavering commitment to a shared vision of how to make a better world for all.

“Marilyn Lerch defines insight, perception. She moves through the world, feet sensing ground, eyes witnessing all, and then finding what is endless reward, i.e. the proverb: “life not to be questioned, but borne”; “mortality the hardest truth to live with”.... In every line, a haiku lurks; in every poem, there’s radical instruction: “refuse any form of slavery ... /perform acts that feel right and lovely in themselves, /create profound, poignant, terrifyingly beautiful art....” With the “moon my essential companion” and “coming to serenity in the flow” of tides and light and love, Lerch is as sensitive as Dylan Thomas, but as clear-eyed as Elizabeth Bishop. A trustworthy inner voice cupped gently by paper.”