Roses for the Most High: Poetry Celebrating the Mystical Christian Path

This booklet of poetry is as rewarding as it is challenging. To start with it helps to know that much of the imagery stems from years of flying over the ice caps of Antarctica but the energy propelling the reader comes from the mysticism of the saints and the Holy Spirit. The first reading (of this book) is merely an appetizer inviting the reader to return flights into ever-deeper prayer experiences. It is truly a work to be treasured and revisited often (Most Reverend Robert J. Hermann Bishop Emeritus Archdiocese of Saint Louis) The technical brilliance of the poems while stunning is even less remarkable than their mystical and contemplative content. Each poem is like a carefully polished jewel that refracts light in unexpected and beautiful ways; to examine these gems slowly is to learn something of contemplation itself. Mr. Smith has produced a work that will surely inspire other poets to greater excellence and other souls to look on God and His creation with new eyes (Sister Maria Battista Order of Discalced Carmelites [OCD]).