Pawnshop, Keeper of Dreams is aptly named and is a repository of gentle thoughts one can turn to time and time again. From Knight of the Dragon to Unfinished Dreams; from Whispered Silence to The Shepherd and the Lamb. Please Wait for Me, is lovely and Child in the Shadows as well. This is a precious poetry collection to keep close at hand when you need to share the thoughts and feelings of one who has been there, looked around and then struggled back. Well done, Marie!

Although one of Ms. Pasha's thought-provoking poems is entitled "No Voice," her poetry belies this title in that it resounds with truth and beauty. As one moves from poem to poem, her words penetrate to the very heart and illicit emotions which run the gamut from joy to sorrow to flights of fancy. To quote Ms. Pasha: "This is a soul endeavor to find the all of me. To waken it, and mold it, to be what I can be." We are very fortunate indeed that in her quest to waken and mold her own soul, she has been generous enough to share the journey with us. I look forward to hearing much more poetry from this extraordinary author.

Marie Pacha's poetry speaks to all of us with its universal themes of love, loss, and redemption. Her range is broad, and her imagery is vivid and expresses her passion for living. The persona of the soul seeking redemption in the title poem is Anyman hoping to redeem lost dreams. In The Pawnshop, fantasy dwells with harsh reality, and we discover ourselves more fully as we move from one poem to the next. Ms. Pacha has a strong, clear voice which has resonance for us all, and her gifts shine through in her every line.

This book follows the author's soul on its journey through hard times to good times. On the way she visits dreams and fantasy, love and harsh reality. She is searching for her place in the great scheme of things in a way more coherent than most of us conduct our own search. This delightful collection of poetry travels exuberantly, with a rhythm and a rhyme that makes you want to press on to the end, even in the saddest of the verses. And I must admit that two of the poems brought me tears, while another, even after a third reading, filled my heart with its beauty, and will, no doubt, continue to do so. While the sheer pleasure brought by dragons dancing, and the finding of love, touched the other end, the bright side, of the emotional spectrum. I thought it a pity that the poems were not illustrated; small ink-sketches in the margin would have added to the pleasure. The rhythm of the poetry, while exhilarating, was very much the same from the first to the last. Marie Pacha has a gift, and I hope she has more to share with us.