92 pages, S12.95 paperback, $39.95 hard cover.
Voted among the best books of poetry for Winter 2008 reading by The Monserrat Review Poetry editor, Grace Cavalieri.
From winter fields smoldering with light and temperatures falling though spring with geese honking the light back and summer's wind of white rose petals, Lyn Lifshin's images, her snapshots and freeze frames, pull you into fall's ruby oaks and the coming blue sack of cold. She chronicles life at the pond, layer by layer, the inner and outer landscapes of this almost hidden refuge where deer and beaver, fox, herons, gulls, geese, mallards and even one of the geese featured in Fly Away Home and Father Goose landed for a few days. Nutley Pond is the only place this one goose appeared again in US after being trained with other motherless geese to follow an ultra lite plane to learn to migrate. Like so much at the pond, this goose, with her silver band and tame approach, was breath taking.
The poems from Nutley Pond will pull you into the last flaming maples and glistening gold fish into the shallows and shadows where stars swim in blue black ripples. You will be wrapped in garnet and turquoise sun rises, goose music and the rustling willows on the walk close to the pond. Experience the beauty and terror as light and dark braid and the birds rustle through leaves while the sound of water is a dark whisper though wet stones and crickets get louder and louder and then, stillness.
TEMPERATURES FALLING
Moon slivers on the
rolling skin of water.
Geese in half light,
armada of feathers.
Wind blows them closer.
One silver band glows.
Their onyx, black flame
in a night fire
GEESE ON ICE
frozen, perched as
if listening for some
distant code,
news of a warm
front coming in
time. Meanwhile,
alerts go out on
local stations,
schools close
early. The "partly
sunny" never came.
30 percent chance
of snow. Trees tilt
east, the ground
hardens. Geese
take root as scarves
float in wind like
strange new flags
Order Nutley Pond from Goose River.
For more info on Lyn Lifshin visit http://www.lynlifshin.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment