FOR THE LOVE OF FEELINGS...
Speak of the Ghost is a series of seventy-eight finely detailed narrative poems and a comprehensive introduction. The book's primary intent is to support individuals moving through family of origin issues by providing witness, prompts for stages of the journey, insight and encouragement.
A work of creative non-fiction, the book also serves group facilitators working in therapeutic and educational settings. Here are a couple audio excerpts:
"A Prayer" (page 43)
"It Wasn't Just A Dream" (page 155)
Below, you will find text excerpts from:
Speak of the Ghost (Part III)
Speak of the Ghost fan letter
Reader Comments
Sidebar:
Looking Back
Journey SOTG review
Dedication (pg.135)
In memory of mute
I wave my hands and point to the buried frown
In memory of those
all those who recoiled when they were ordered to
shut up and sit down
In memory I cry
and cringe and boil
the stunted attempts
reprimanded or foiled
the hunted sips of raw emotion
shot straight back into murky oceans
In memory of the tear
the hairline crack
that spreads like wildfire down the middle of my back
every time I think of opening my mouth
In memory of doubt
mute’s reinforcer
tripping up my path and making it coarser
In memory of fear
mute’s escorter
the tireless crimp
the heart contorter
filling up my house with silent boarders
who never see the light of day
In memory of the muted way
of the selves
my selves I smothered
In memory of the me who became some other me
In memory of what I became
In memory of every trapped cell in my brain
confined in bitter, solitary shame
In memory of every mistake I learned--
that a flower barely opens before it gets burned
that a voice must miss its umpteenth turn
In memory I know
I stand
I show
in full view
Or Could We? (pg. 189)
If all the people are merely players
I would like to meet us all backstage
costumes off
props down
scripts dispensed with
and I would like to have a giant cast party
everyone invited
to celebrate the show being over
curtain dropped
end of run
no more reviews
we could laugh about the slights of hand
pretense
and illusions grand
the grandest
and the acting out--
superb!!
we could warm up to one another
victims and evildoers could be lovers
delighting in each other’s actual presence
knowing exactly how the script pulled our strings
manipulating us to do outrageous things
on stage
for the audience’s cries and entertainment
we could thank the skies for covering the stage
for our containment
upon which to depict every raw emotion
under crimes, deceits and split devotions
intrigues
to captivate, horrify and amuse
all action prompted by none other than the director’s cues
knowing full well that what we have done
was based upon someone else’s notion
we would never choose to really participate
in such obviously dire commotion
if it all were true
and if it were
we could never unify the entire cast
or have the drama enlighten us all
at last
we could never congratulate all of us, with love,
for making such a terrific show
or say,
"good--
you played the finest arrow
evil--
you portrayed a most rigid bow
audience--
you shook in your boots as they stood toe to toe"
we could never say it was fun to suspend disbelief
to perform the age-old tale of duality
we could never thank the author for such palpable grief
and say--
"good job,"
with relief
"come on now, let's all get back to reality!"
With Absolute Pitch (pg. 198)
In a perfect world the truth doesn’t hurt
and everyone can afford to tell it
in a perfect world the truth doesn’t hide
everyone can smell it
and say so
in a perfect world the truth waves like a flag
never required to lay low
in a perfect world we can trust the truth
because it lives within the heart
and everyone knows it is out of that place
all actions grow or tear apart
in a perfect world
in a perfect world
we rely upon the truth to be an accurate compass
leading us all to the main symphony hall
not a back room filled with discordant rumpus
in a perfect world the truth is never asked to say
that it is sorry
because everybody understands the language must spell out
its justifiable real true story
and everyone listens to the story
as it is told
eager to know
eager to tell it with their own unbridled spontaneity
eager to wear it like a charm to keep us out of harm’s way
in a perfect world the truth is not the catalyst
for angry or fearful reactions
but one giant bath drawn to warm and be shared
by cold warring factions
in a perfect world the truth adds up
never figures by subtractions
in a perfect world
the truth decides
Speak of the Ghost "fan" letter excerpt
Hello Ms. Sackett,
...Your name was entirely new to me, but I look carefully at every poetry book in such a sale. When I sampled some paragraphs from your book, I was quickly struck by the directness of expression, the clarity of detail and tone, the sense that you are reporting on real defeats, struggles and victories; the complementarity of inside and outside, of personal and social; the sharp challenges, the shocks of recognizing accustomed and perverted priorities; the both visceral and conceptual responses; the voices of self, selves, and self-alienation; the radical changes of recovery, the sweetness of healing and self-integration; and other content and characteristics I am still struggling to name. Most important, the conviction that they all are fruits of a hard-won knowledge and integrity.
Such an integrity is part of my goal also.
I was stunned. The book quickly became necessary (one of my conditions of purchase), and it captivated me for several hours...
...I look forward to learning more about your methods of using language as a tool for recovery. And even without understanding your methods, your work is encouraging.
Hurrah!
Thanks...
Reader Comments:
Take a look at Pamela's book and you will find everyone on trial, caught and transformed. I loved those poems.
Arnold Mindell, Ph.D. author of The Leader as Martial Artist
Pamela's words and feeling are mine. She went into that place in me where they had been hidden for so long and gave permission for them to finally come out. Her work is a gift to me because it gives so much permission and validation.
Bayla Greenspoon, early childhood educator, teacher on
anti-bias, multicultural issues
This book is a primer for the reality of emotion, makes it tangible. Reaches the part of me that sees without my eyes—-my whole being—-every cell of my body has eyes when Pamela speaks.
Taylor Danard, M.A. Psychotherapist
Ms. Sackett is outstanding in the depth of her intelligence and the command of her subject.
Pesha Gertler, poet, writing instructor
It's loaded!
Marjorie Cogan, recovering stage manager
...tapped my losses from childhood forgotten, that men don't talk about in our culture...tapped somewhere in me, untied a knot in me long buried.
Barry Schiess, landscape artist
Her collection of poems and writings contain strong emotion, clear insight and models ways for each reader to emulate as we fight clear of the hurts of the past.
Earl Rice, Pastor, Trinity United Methodist Church, Seattle
It helped me to re-establish the importance of my writing and among many other things, being a witness to children.
anonymous