Still
Pilgrim by poet Angela Alaimo O’Donnell
unintentionally poses a question from the outset, and that question is the
title, specifically the word “still.” Does it mean “continuing to be” a
pilgrim, or does it mean still in the sense of quiet or motionless? Or perhaps
both? Or can one imagine a comma and read it as a command, as in “Be still,
pilgrim”?
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| Angela Alaimo O'Donnell |
The word “pilgrim”
doesn’t help answer the question. Americans still associate the word with
settlers from England who settled in Massachusetts (and not the same as the
Puritans). But a pilgrim can be anyone who takes a journey for reasons of
reflection, escape from an unpleasant or dangerous environment, and spiritual experience
and renewal like the Way
of St. James de Compostela.
But once you
begin reading the 57 poems of Still Pilgrim,
the answer becomes clearer. This is the story of a life, a life understood as a
pilgrimage, and a life in which even the smallest of events and experiences are
grasped as part of the journey.
To continue
reading, please see my post today at Tweetspeak
Poetry.
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