Cherish the Clear Sky
A poetic celebration of the natural world and the intricacies of life
The poems in Cherish the Clear Sky follow Annette’s life from her 1950s childhood in a military family to her falling in love with the redwood forest of Northern California. She and her husband Greg settled into an old dairy farm where they restored a dilapidated barn and turned it into a meditation hall. Many poems spring from the author’s devotion to the natural world, others from her relationships with family and friends. The poems range from the humorous to the sacred, and are written in a variety of styles including free verse, sonnets, ballads, haiku and haibun. They touch on the joys, sorrows, and complexities of life in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
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“If your looking for a bit of nostalgia, a lot of charm, the sweet delights of life side by side with impermanence, Annette’s book of poems is for you. With whimsy, rhythm, and a beautiful way with words, Annette uses snapshots from her own personal experiences to share universal truths that will touch many hearts.”
— Ellen Dee Davidson
Author of Sacred Forest Bathing
“From her childhood with her Air Force family following the priorities of empire to settling in a small coastal valley in Northern California—home—here is the poetry of Annette’s life, in service to family, sisterhood, and the wild spirits of place. Here is evidence, the bitter healing medicine of suffering, the poetry of earth, prayer spoken though an empty vessel.”
— Jerry Martien
Author of Pieces in Place, Infrastructure, Waveshock, Shell Game and Price of a Life
“Your poems are really ‘yours’ - as they say - from the few l’ve seen—a close perception and willing peacefulness even while toughly engaging daily life.”
— Gary Snyder
Pulitzer Prize–winning poet and leading voice in American nature writing
“This is the voice of a woman attuned to the living world, speaking with grace, humility, depth and beauty. The qualities I find especially striking are her range – that Annette writes formal poetry, free verse, prose and haiku – and the flow of energy in the collection. In this book, we witness the arc of a human life intertwined with place, with the passing of the seasons and the grace of aging. The richness and simplicity are potent.”
— Lama Choyang
Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Teacher