…writing at a time
when hearts
are being called
to awaken
and consciouness
is being called
to evolve…
Nanna Aida Svendsen
Notes, Musings, and Poems from a Writing Life
Sanctuary: Finding Solace and Illumination in the Garden
There is a sacred stillness that dwells in gardens – where earth and spirit meet, and the veil between worlds thins. Sanctuary is born of such a place.
In this tender and luminous collection, poet and cherisher of feelings, and the inner feminine Nanna Aida Svendsen leads us through the seasons of a garden, and the seasons of the soul. With each poem, we are invited into a quiet space of reflection, where grief softens into grace, where the heart remembers its belonging, and where the presence of the natural world becomes a healing companion.
These poems are not only about the turning of leaves or the blossoming of petals, they are meditations on aging, on love, on impermanence and on the mystery that pulses gently beneath it all.
Sanctuary is an offering – a prayer in the form of poetry – for all those seeking rest, remembrance, and a return to being at home with themselves.
Nanna’s words heal. Her poetry is balm for the soul, a language of the heart that returns us to what matters most in life.
Cheryl Richardson
SANCTUARY
I stand in the garden
Beneath the old apple tree
Its boughs reaching
To the ground.
I am entirely encircled
By turning autumn leaves
Golden apples
And dappled flaxen light.
The world seems benign
And life trustworthy
Here in the secret shelter
Of the tree.
In an upsetting and besieging world
How crucial is sanctuary,
Peace,
A place to grieve,
Receive wisdom,
And reflect.
An apple
Ripe and ready
Falls to the ground.
I pick it up and bite into
The juicy sweetness.
How grateful I am
For the tree’s
Natural generosity
And the nourishment
It provides.
I offer up a small plea.
May we all find and inhabit
Our natural generosity
And be
Like an old apple tree
Standing in the garden
Graced by a tender light.
May we all find
And be
A place of sanctuary.