Pamela S. Wynn

Pamela S. Wynn is an adjunct professor, teaching poetry and writing, at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in Minnesota. She grew up in North Carolina, but has lived in Minnesota for 34 years. Her husband is medieval historian Phillip Wynn. Her poetry collection Diamonds on the Back of a Snake appeared in 2004 from Laurel Poetry Collective. She has also edited the anthology Body of Evidence (2012) with Laurel.

She was commissioned by Northwestern University in Minnesota, to write the libretto for the opera “Ruth” with composer Barbara Rogers. It was performed in 2008.

The following poem is from the December issue of Sojourners. It is one of the annual Christmas poems she has written over the past ten years, which she sends out to friends on handmade bookmarks along with her Christmas cards. Here is a link to other Sojourners poetry.

Advent Candles

for St. Teresa of Ávila

Lighting these candles—porous and buoyant—
Grounds us

Flames draw our eyes to heavens dotted white
With celestial thought

To look back in time through the stars
Hundreds of light-years away

To glimpse God standing
On the shore of God’s self

With outrageous visions and promises
Of hope that strain our belief

What can we do with such promises?
With tradition that grounds us in hope

In stars-----in candles-----in souls set alight?

Posted with permission of the poet.

Entry written by D.S. Martin. His latest poetry collection, Conspiracy of Light: Poems Inspired by the Legacy of C.S. Lewis, is available from Wipf & Stock as is his earlier award-winning collection, Poiema.