In Translation: A Poem and Three Photographs
by Kimberly Phinney
Silhouettes at Sunset on the Blue Ridge
IN TRANSLATION
Out into the woods—
far, far past the cut grass
and hum of man…
out, out beyond the beaten path
and the familiar rhythms of society…
there is a Dwelling Place.
Instead of empty talk,
rumors of wars and robots,
and the ego’s romp,
the yellow warbler beckons spring
as it has been beckoned.
There is a rustling
up from the lush spruce and maple
whispering back
to the wind’s caress—in unison.
And it is talking to the birds!
Further, further in,
a stray fawn bleats for its mother
until she acquiesces to his hunger,
a mother bear with cubs awake from sleep
just beyond the cropping,
as the bees buzz greedily
from bud to bud.
…
They all go on like this,
as the cicadas sing the sun
down into her slumber
and the nocturnal creatures
stir with life:
the lunar moth licks the moon
with her velvet wings,
the great horned owl
hoots his holy guttural song
and beats his giant feathers
in the air,
and I am here—
slack-jawed—
in awe.
If I listen long enough,
close enough,
my thoughts go still,
and I can hear these wild things
all whispering to me
the same secrets
they told to Walt and Henry
and Wendell and Mary—
the very same ones!
Oh, this embarrassment of riches
for a pauper like me
who only knew to come
and wait
and see.
Such am I a foreigner
unfit for the fitting!
So, I go low.
I empty my mind
and my shame
and all of man’s ways
on this Rock of Ages
and press its poetry to the pages—
verbatim—
but in a poor translation,
as an act of faith.
Yes, as an act
of faith!
On Photography: My three photographs published here, Silhouettes at Sunset on the Blue Ridge, Branches Like Prayers, and Upon a Wooded Path in New Hampshire, were taken in my travels before my serious illness. Nature and faith are my muses, as they heighten my sensitivity to the wonders of life and the heartbeat of the natural world. These adventures have birthed much poetry these days, as I reminisce about my adventures and dream to one day be well enough to enjoy them again. These photographs were taken on my Sony Alpha 7 with a Carl Zeiss fixed 50mm lens in manual mode. I was a professional photographer before I had my daughter, and you can find my portfolio here: www.PhinneyPhotography.com. One day, I would also love to pursue my photography again, but I trust this hope to God’s will and timing.
These photographs felt particularly suited for our theme, “The Peace of Wild Things,” as this was my very feeling when I was driven to lift my lens and capture these moments. Berry writes, “We could say that the human race is a great coauthorship in which we are collaborating with God and nature in the making of ourselves and one another…” And I think he’s right. How beautiful it is that, as God’s image bearers, we are invited into the creation of things, not just to worship what God has wrought, but also as his co-creators in all that we write, draw, photograph, sculpt, and more.
“My heart is overflowing with a good theme;
I recite my composition concerning the King;
My tongue is the pen of a ready writer.”
PSALM 45:1
Branches Like Prayers
Upon a Wooded Path in New Hampshire
KIMBERLY PHINNEY
Kimberly Phinney is a writer, professor, and counselor. She’s been published in Christianity Today, Ekstasis, Fathom, The Dewdrop, Humana Obscura, Calla Press, and more. She is founder of www.TheWayBack2Ourselves.com. Her poem “Exalted Ground” was nominated for the Pushcart Prize in 2024. Her poem “An Ode to Hard Dark Nights” won the Audience Choice Award in the Bright Wings Poetry Contest with Ekstasis and Makers and Mystics in 2024. And her small collection of poetry from Of Wings and Dirt won runner up in Fathom Magazine’s Poetry Contest in 2023.
A doctoral candidate in community care and counseling, Kimberly holds an M.Ed. in English and studied at Goddard’s Creative Writing MFA program. She was featured on Good Morning America for a national award and teaching through critical illness. Her poetry collection, Of Wings and Dirt, was a bestseller on the Amazon Charts in 2024. Her second book of poetry, Exalted Ground: Poems of Praise and Lament for the Living, will be published in 2025.