Vigil: The Poetry of Presence - Softcover

Pam MacPherson's honest, unpretentious poems reveal the deep-rooted compassion she offers to strangers in their final hours. A hospice volunteer anonymously standing in "for all who ever loved you," she holds her readers as tenderly as she holds the hands of the dying. Without shying away from her own uncertainty, exhaustion or sadness, she shares the calm assurance, even joy, of midwifing each soul into Mystery. For all of us who wonder how to be with the dying, these intimate passages are clear: presence is the practice. Camilla Rockwell, Director Holding Our Own: Embracing the End of Life Pam MacPherson's poetry speaks volumes about the many years she has shared her presence with the dying. The process of dying, while very different for everyone, has some similarities that Pam reaches in her beautiful words. Each person's dying is different; yet the unique path to getting there reveals our common humanity: love, pain, joy, comfort, searching and acceptance. All of these and many more are felt and recognized in Pam's poetry. I recommend this book without hesitation! J. Donald Schumacher, PsyD President and CEO, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Vigil is a powerful and moving must-read for all, especially clergy. Pam offers her compassionate presence and deep attention to the dying as a hospice volunteer and I recognize in her tender work--which comes to life so vividly in her poems--a true spiritual calling. Her book provides an entry point, at once deeply wise and wholly practical, for crucial conversations about end-of-life care, the spiritual dimensions of dying, and the life-giving connections that can happen when we truly show up for one another. Reverend Mara Dowdall, Senior Minister First Unitarian Universalist Society of Burlington, VT Pamela's years of dedicated care for the dying, and the many hours she spent at the bedside of people in the last days of their lives, come to life in the collection of poetry she has entitled Vigil: The Poetry of Presence. She shares how late at night, in moments of quiet intimacy, simply by being a compassionate witness one can bring comfort and healing to those in need. In her encounters with the great variety of people and situations she met through her hospice work, Pam developed a deep trust in the transformative power of bearing witness to human suffering. Her heartfelt poetry is woven from the threads of kindness, acceptance, and the ability to be fully present for others. Judy Lief Author of Making Friends with Death: A Buddhist Guide to Encountering Mortality; Former chair of Madison-Deane Initiative, an end-of-life educational program of Vermont's VNA of Chittenden and Grand Isle Counties. This moving collection of poetry is filled with scenes that will stir recognition in those familiar with being at the bedside at life's end. More importantly, the poet's insights have much to teach all of us who care for people through life's final chapter, both newcomer and veteran alike. Zail S. Berry, MD, MPH Associate Professor of Medicine, University of Vermont Medical Center As a hospice chaplain and minister, I recognize the universal truths expressed so simply and eloquently by Pam MacPherson in "Vigil." Though I haven't met her patients and families, I was touched to see so much of what I've experienced with MY patients and families transformed into poetry. As a spiritual person, Pam's poetry calls me to consider my own strength and vulnerability, my life and ultimately my death. I am grateful to have her wise and compassionate voice to lean on when that seems like a heavy task. Reverend Susan Webster-Toleno, Pastor Congregational Church of Westminster West, Vermont

Vigil: The Poetry of Presence, a collection of sixty-five poems written from the perspective of a seasoned hospice volunteer sitting with others in the last days and moments of their life, is the author's processing of her many and varied experiences while being present and bearing witness to the sacred moments of dying. The poems originated in the author's personal journal, a safe and private place where her processing of experiences occurs. With the urging of close friends, the unedited poems were transferred to a manuscript and, over the course of a year, prepared for publication.

This collection allows each reader, at his/her own pace, to be closer to and more aware of the sacred process of dying. Deeper meaning is found in everyday life when we have the opportunity to, intimately and honestly, connect with our own mortality. Holding a space of compassionate presence for those who are dying brings this gift. As one reader wrote, "This little book is much larger than its physical size."

"Heartfelt poetry woven from the threads of kindness, acceptance and the ability to be fully present for others."

"She holds her readers as tenderly as she holds the hands of the dying."

"The poet's insights have much to teach all of us who care for people through life's final chapter, both newcomer and veteran alike."