Category: Maria Brady-Smith
Rhythm of the Sea
Rhythm of the Sea It took a day and night to arrive in Ireland by plane. My spirit, however, lagged behind, gliding slowly over land and ocean. It was carried in by the tide to the Antrim Coast where ... Read More
Nourished So
Nourished So “In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” -Albert Camus A gentle rain greets me this morning and from the greenness of my home, all the world seems... Read More
There is Beauty Everywhere
There is Beauty Everywhere Even the tattered tarp that covers the woodpile, battered as it is by the bitter wind, cups a puddle of rainwater in its folds, which it offers now, like a chalice, to the t... Read More
Essence Song
Happy Sunday morning. After the events of this week, I didn’t know what to say here. Do I post words of outrage? Disbelief? Fear? Despair? Or comfort? It is my personal belief that in times of t... Read More
A New Year
A New Year It is a quiet day, much like any other, except for the awareness that a page, all used up, every line and margin filled, has turned. The emptiness of this new page gives a moment of silent ... Read More
How They Saved Me
How They Saved Me My prayers of desperation were almost always centered around my children. Please. I beg You. Bargaining, even though I don’t believe in that sort of thing. I would have given my li... Read More
As They Were
As They Were I visited the landscape of my childhood the other day- houses, schools, shops, some still recognizable and yet, with time has come inevitable change. After half a century, there is no tra... Read More
Light of Recognition
Light of the World An unexpected loss Plunges her into a dark world. So she writes, Pulling from time and experience, Every twig of hope She can find. She places them, by hand, In a small brown notebo... Read More
In Silence
In Silence I grew up in a noisy and chaotic household, full to overflowing with the wildness of children. A moment of silence was so rare that, like a vacuum, it made my ears ring. I loved it anyway. ... Read More
Note to a Young Parent
Note to a Young Parent Despite the vastness of your love, you, too, will undoubtedly encounter a particular brokenness in yourself so deep that you cannot traverse it, even for your children’s sake.... Read More
This I need to remember
This I need to remember When I am looking back from the perch of old age, this is what I need to remember: Every morning in the spring, summer and fall, I would get my coffee and notebook and sit on t... Read More
Finding Otherness
I wrote this essay four years ago and just came across it again today. The situation in our country has only become more brutal and the need for otherness more great. So here it is again. Finding Othe... Read More
If You Want To Write
If You Want To Write You must first come to love it. Your notebook must become your home, the place you return to in order to feel yourself again. Initially, though, it might be a place you avoid, as ... Read More