"I know the sparkling that heavens the earth,

we saw it,

more than that, bore witness to strange phenomenon:

together on the edge of lawn this November day standing in a half-circle

of four, while Lee, eldest daughter, on the end

of our blood-bonded curve,

scoops her hand into ashes and tiny bones”

These words begin the moving poem from Sandra Berris about a harmonious bond felt while spreading ashes.  “My poem "An Intimacy of Matter" is an occasion of one author responding to another,” Sandra said.  When she read Galway Kinnell's poem, "That Silent Evening," she immediately sat down to share her experience that rang true to his lines:

" . . . Then I will go back

to that silent evening, when the past just managed

to overlap the future, if only by a trace,

and the light doubles and shines

through the dark the sparkling that heavens the earth."

“How rewarding to repeat and explore this theme of hope and faith in the unknown beyond death,” she continued.  “And how satisfying it is for me to see my poem, a finalist for one of Inkwell's poetry contests, have an opportunity to resonate with others in print in Hope Whispers.”