Exciting News!! (and who doesn’t need exciting news!)

Book #2 is complete. Only a few books have been released, but more to come within days!!! The book launch is June 28th!! Please come!! If you cannot come, just send me an order for the book on my website http://patocwriter.com Details below!!

Launch Party for Spirit in Creationmainstreetbookends.com

Launch Party for Spirit in Creation

We are honored to host the Launch Party for this wonderful collection of poetry from two local women!

Join Us to Celebrate!

Saturday, June 28 at 1 pm

Marjorie Burke and Patricia O’Connor
Their newest book, Spirit in Creation; Two Women, One Vision Finding Peace and Truth in Creation was conceived spontaneously.  The two women, who had met briefly years before at the bedside of Marge’s ill husband, reunited in a serendipitous manner.  As many do, they said, “Let’s do lunch!”  But they actually did.  That first lunch, Pat picked Marge’s brain about how to go about completing and publishing her book.  Marge encouraged Pat to go to the Chihuly Glass Museum in Seattle during her upcoming trip to Alaska. 

During their second lunch, in sharing their experiences of the glass museum and Glacier Bay, Pat, recognizing the spirit which had overcome Marge as they spoke, spontaneously proclaimed, “Marge, we have to write a book together!”  Marge said, “Yes!”  Then Pat gave it a name – we will call it Spirit in Creation.  Again, Marge agreed wholeheartedly.   And so, it was conceived!

For the next 15 months, they adventured to places of creation throughout New England.  They spent time silently sitting and writing in nature and places of creations made by people.  Then they would return to MainStreet BookEnds in Warner if near enough and sit in front of the fire and write more then read to each other.  As they would read their eyes would widen every time – as what they saw, felt, witnessed was so similar though their writing styles individual!

They found in each other kindred spirits, sisters and friends.  They each grew in ways unique to each as the year traveled on.   In their escapades, they found escape from the pain existing in the world, but more importantly, sustenance and perspective.  They found joy.

By the end of 2024 (their goal!), the book was complete – well, version one!  They spent the next 6 months paring the poems down (the original manuscript was over 400 pages!) along with their ever-faithful editor, Susan Brown. 

The creation which was borne is a testimony to all creation.  A gift to all who wish to find peace and truth in their own lives and a peek hole into friendship, endurance and the Spirit of Truth by any name.

Marjorie is a young octogenarian who approaches her life with a sense of adventure and purpose.  She was one of the first women to graduate from the MCP.  Early in her career she worked at Pediatric Hospital.  She lived outside of Boston with her husband, Donald where she raised her two sons.  During this time, she was active also in the Episcopal Church having been president of the Episcopal Women for many years.  She traveled extensively giving talks all over the world. She was president of the Weare board of education.

She began her writing career with an Alzheimer’s Trilogy she began with her husband, Donald when he became ill with the disease.  She has subsequently written four other books.

Her life is filled now with writing, volunteering at her church and in the community, cooking, canning, modeling, family, and, sometimes, soaking up the peace of her home in Weare which she built with her husband, Donald.

Patricia is a retired nurse practitioner who has written throughout her life in order to slow down and feel the pulse of the world she inhabits.  She spent over five decades in health care, much of that caring for people at or nearing the end-of-life.  This has informed and inspired her appreciation of the preciousness of life. This appreciation and gratitude are woven into the fabric of her writing.  She spends her “work” time teaching, leading retreats, story-telling, and writing. Her leisure time is spent enjoying New Hampshire from her kayak, her hiking shoes, or her perch by Little Lake Sunapee where she inspects boats to keep NH lakes free of invasive species. She takes delight in her children, their spouses and her grandchildren when she gets to spend time with them.  She loves her life with her husband, Tom! 

Event date: 

Saturday, June 28, 2025 – 1:00pm to 2:00pm

Event address: 

Gallery at MainStreet BookEnds

16 East Main Street

Warner, NH 03278

Event Type Terms: 

The Elegant Oak


Silently sauntering down a side street
Enjoying the sunshine
Heretofore hidden for days
Feeling the beams of light
Filtered through nascent
Leaves of spring
Penetrate my winter skin
Smelling the sweetness
Of the pink petals
Encircling yellow center
The Rugosa Rose
Beach Rose
Thriving in the sandy soil
Of this coastal community
My foot freezes mid-step
My breath
Filled as it is with the freshness
Of new spring ocean air
Catches in my throat
My eyes stretch open
Trying to better take in the beauty
Of the oak tree
Towering over 40 feet high
Set against a cloudless sky
The virginal green leaves of spring
Outlined by
A watercolor blue backdrop
The tree stands alone
Each branch seemingly
A separate entity
A village
Connected
Through the rock-solid trunk
Of the majestic oak.
My eyes fill
With tears of awe
As I gaze up at this wonder of Creation
Am I one of those branches
Clinging to the vine
Source of all love
And life
Separate, unique, alive
While a part still
Of a greater whole
All working together
Creating beauty
Creating life.
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New Way of Communicating

I would like to announce that I am working with New London Barn Playhouse here in New London, NH on a different way to help people gain comfort in having difficult conversations. Come and join the premier “performance” and see what this is all about. The actors are professional improv actors – they are fantastic!! It’s Free!!

A Unique Power


Prayer
Is for me
A unique type of power
Prayer
Is a lifeline
A means of disentangling
The vines of worry
Within one’s head
A way to empty
So as to focus
To fill
With a semblance
Of peace

Prayer germinated peace
Is a peace
Beyond the reach
Of worldly woes
Worldly worries
A peace which grows
From faith
Out of the Heart of Love

Peace fed by faith
And truth
Is not of this world
But is present in this world
It can lend clarity
Commitment
And courage
To our walk
Upon this earth.

I pray to a God of Love
To the Spirits of Love
Those gone beyond
Who loved deeply
Gave dearly
And, I imagine
May now weep
At the evil
Present in our world.

Can Love from afar
Change the hearts
Of those living in the flesh today?
Please let it be so

It is my prayer
that all hearts
be opened
even a crack
that a beam of Light
might enter
to warm
and soften
to stifle fear
and nurture compassion

Prayer
Deep, quiet, wordless prayer
Entering the presence of Love
May it soothe our souls
Renew our Spirit
And inform our paths

May prayer
Heal the United States of America
May prayer
Bring love, compassion
And truth in action
To our fragile
World.

Blood Worm Moon


Luminous white
Dinner plate
Glows like a torch
Against the tarry night sky
A smattering
Of twinkling stars
Join in the illumination
The snow blanketed earth
Reflects the light
Like a quilt embedded
with a million
precious diamonds

Night marches on
The moon
Resplendent in its fullness
Rises westward into the sky
As the wee hours of morning arrive
A dark curtain
With a rounded edge
Creeps across its face
From east to west

As the curtain
Advances across the celestial body
The color of the orb
Morphs from fullers white
To a red-orange color
In muffled horizontal stripes
Of varying hues and intensities

As I gaze upon this blood red body
A thought arises
Unbidden
Am I seeing
The Sacred Heart of Jesus?

The rays of the sun
Are blocked
By the umbra shadow of earth
The blue light from our solar orb
Scatters easily
The rays must now filter through
Earth’s atmosphere
As during sunrise
And sunset.

When the full-spectrum light of the Sun
Is blocked
By the earth
The red beams remain

This Blood Worm Moon
Heralds Winter’s end
And Springs awakening
A time of renewal
And rebirth

When hope seems gone
And evil blocks the light
Let us look to the sky
And remember
Love endures
Love persists
Love grows
When we reflect
It out!

Winds of Change


The trees
Bend, swirl
Flex and resist
They shed branches, needles
But still, they hold
Their ground
Roots planted deeply
In Mother Earth
The once undisturbed
Blanket of white
Littered now with debris
Covers the tender soil
The moon watches over
From the west
As the layers of pink clouds
Resting in the eastern sky
Give notice
Of the rising
Of the sun
The air is filled
With the howling of the wind
And the crying out of the trees
As they protest the assault
Gone is the peaceful
Muffle
Of a snow-covered world
Hold your ground
Soldiers of the woods
Shine your lights
Orbs of the sky
And wisdom
Please come to me
Come to us
Courage
Please take up residence in me
Come into all of us
Instruct and inspire me
As I dwell safely now
In my warm home
How might I resist?
How might I
Protect the vulnerable
Defend our country
And stand tall
Like the lady
In New York Harbor?

Pat O’Connor
February 2025

Breaking Open

It is, I think

In the breaking open of our hearts

That they receive the nourishment

And light

Needed for expansion

When we open our eyes

To the pain and suffering

All around us

To the injustice

Embedded in our world

The unfairness

We must first

Acknowledge our helplessness

And the pain it inflicts.

Feel the breaking of our hearts

As our eyes are

Cleansed by tears

Washing away the crusts of

Cynicism, greed and fear

Allowing us to more clearly

see the plight

Of our human family

But our broken hearts – Holy Ground

Does not shrivel

It expands

To embrace

And find compassion

For a broader human family

Beyond our borders and within

We grow closer to the divine

The source of all love

And we listen

With our ears

Our hearts

Our minds

Our souls

And understand

How we each might

Do our tiny piece

To mend the world.

Tikkun Olam.

Speaking from Tanzania

Tanzania

Emotions vie for attention

The wolf of fear is trying

To conquer

The wolf of love

As both reside within

The wolf of love is winning

Fed by Tanzania

The Holy Ground

Called Ngorongoro Crater

The Hallowed Plains

Called Ndutu National Park

The Sacred Land

Of the Serengeti

Being present

Hearing the birds sing,

The lions roar

The zebras bark

The wildebeest call and moan

And so much more

The beauty of these animals

Fills my spirit

Creates joy, awe and excitement

This feeds my wolf of love

The poverty

The children begging

The ramshackle buildings

The unknowns of this culture

So foreign to me

These feed my wolf of fear

But it is diminished

Near extinguished

By the gift of the children

Of The Small Things

Their pure, unadulterated love

As they place their hand in mine

As they wrap their arms around my legs

As they tend to each other

With kindness and compassion

The wolf of fear

Is drained from my heart

When I humbly witness the work

Of the staff

The volunteers

The benefactors

Here at The Small Things Children’s Village

I am humbled by the good they have done

For over a decade

The lives they have saved

The opportunities they have provided

I am filled with hope

In a time when it seems

Our world is crumbling

Giving the wolf of fear

Free reign

I am filled with hope!

I am filled with hope!
Baboo!

I Saw Love Today

I Saw Love Today

Not in a card adorned
With glitter and hearts
Not in a church hosting
A woman in white
And a man in a tux
Not even at a table
Lit by candles.

I saw love
In a hospital
In the voice of a woman
Speaking for her husband
Advocating through grief-filled tears
For his final wishes
For a merciful, peaceful release

I saw love
In a young woman
Sitting beside her dying father
Holding his hand
Telling him stories
Expressing her love
Sitting, being present
Love embodied

I saw love
In a daughter
Pulling strength
From deep within
Speaking truth
Selflessly supporting
Her dad’s wishes
Bravely explaining
All he has endured
To be her dad,
Their dad
And out of that love
Expressing gratitude
For what has been
And releasing now
From suffering
Acknowledging the truth
Of what cannot be.

I saw love today
In these three women
Walking together
Holding each other up
Crying, sharing, laughing
Only they
Truly knowing
How great a loss
They are experiencing

I saw love today
In a beautiful
Hand-made quilt
Cloaking a man
So gentle and kind
A man so full of love
For these women
It filled the room.


I saw love in nurses
Whose eyes radiated compassion
Whose hands worked
With a tender touch
Whose knowledge
Offered strength
And decrease of suffering.

I saw love
In medical providers
Accepting their limitations
Acknowledging the inevitable
Despite heroic attempts
To change that path
Medical providers speaking truth
With humility and compassion.

I saw love
In old friends
Being present
Where few dare to be
Setting aside all else
And standing sentry
Carrying a magic bag
Of sustenance
Giving a ride
When tears block vision

I saw love
In a pastor
Speaking truth
Offering prayer
And compassion
With no demands
Supporting this family
Who so embody love.

I saw love today
And what an honor it is
To know and be present with
This family
This woman who has dedicated her life
To serving
And being love incarnate.

This and That and So Much More!

Hello to all! I thought it was time to pause, say hello and let you know what is going on here!

My dear friend and now co-author, Marjorie Burke, and I have completed our book! The title is Spirit in Creation: Two Women, One Vision: Finding Peace and Truth in Creation. The book is at the editor now!! Our goal was to complete the manuscript before Tom and I leave on the trip which I shall tell you about!

Tom and I leave in less than a week for Tanzania. We will be volunteering at The Small Things which is a children’s village begun over 10 years ago by the daughter of a dear, late friend – Dr. David Ross Russell. He is the person who my book, Navigating Life’s Final Journey: Conversations, Choices, Resources is dedicated to. I worked with him for over 25 years. His daughter, Bekka, began the village after perceiving the need while on a trip to Tanzania during her studies at London School of Economics. It is staffed by all Tanzanian people excepting Bekka. We look forward to helping out in any ways needed. Tom is going to give some classes on aerodynamics to the children and I will be helping with a writing group.

We expect this to be a transformative experience. We are also going to have opportunity to go on a safari with one of the staff members of the children village – a trip which will go to supporting the village and fulfilling a life dream!

I have a sneaking suspicion that my next book will be borne out of this trip to Tanzania! I have cameras ready and travel journals stocked. More to come!

I would love to hear from all of you! I am not artificial intelligence, I believe in human contact – we all can learn so much from each other!

Thank you so much for being loyal readers!

Love,

Pat