Mary Junge • Pilgrim Eye

Mary Junge’s book from the Laurel Poetry Collective takes its title Pilgrim Eye from a poem about American artist Georgia O’Keeffe. Though she insists that she writes from daily life — whatever crosses the path from her Eden Prairie home — many of her poems work their way into art with startling results.

Praise for Pilgrim Eye

The Pilgrim’s Eye is the third eye, which takes in all the universe; its feet are grounded on earth, and its heart beats steadily with love and hope. — Roseann Lloyd, author of Because of the Light: Poems (Holy Cow! Press, 2002)

About Mary

Mary lives with her husband in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. Her poems have appeared in ArtWord Quarterly, Avocet, 100 Words, The Wolf Head Quarterly, Minnesota Poetry Calendars, Sidewalks, SoulSpeak, and Water~Stone, among others. She received a 2001 Pushcart nomination. Express Train, a first volume of poems, was published by Pudding House Publications in 2002.

Last Night

Saved a pink ladyslipper,

Caught the thief with shovel in hand,

About to lift roots and all,

Her children waiting in the car.

Saved a ladyslipper from the quick death

That comes after transplantation

From its hiding place, where hosta leaves shade

Its flowers, sixteen years coming.

Saved a showy ladyslipper

While our good earth seems to be slipping away —

To poachers resembling ourselves —

The glow of our wonderment shadowed by our greed.

From The Quiet Eye: Thirteen Ways of Looking at Nature, Laurel Poetry Collective Anthology (2009)

Mary on Writing Poetry

Each of my poems seems to wait for its time to be born. As I see it, my job is to bring each poem into the world gently. A poem cannot be forced into the light. When a single image or idea calls for my undivided attention, a poem is trying to emerge. For me, writing poetry involves submitting to the unknown — giving up control. When I succeed at doing this, I am blessed with surprising images and connections, and with gratitude for the bounty of language.

From The Double Meaning of Yield: Laurel Poets on Writing Poetry