Customer Reviews

Earth Lessons

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In just a little more than 70 pages, Rachel Dacus takes me from smiles and chuckles to tears and ponderings of life on earth. The images are rich with color and fragrance. My very favorite(today) is "Why I Like Weather". Starting out with: "Famous for always being there..." this poem takes me through mystical clouds, practical prognostications and ending with warm assurance that change, in weather as in life, is inevetable and this is good. I recommend this little gem to anyone who loves nature and finds themselves pondering life.

Rachel Dacus, Earth Lessons (Bellowing Ark Press, 1998)

Interesting debut collection from Dacus (Femme au Chapeau), presaging things to come but still feeling rather rough and unformed; one of those "the development of a fine poet" books that requires a bit of patience and a familiarity with the poet's larger body of work. Not to say there's not some pretty fine stuff to be found here, of course:

"At Yellowstone they let the wildfires burn.
One kind of pine can only propagate
with a blaze, exploding pinecones
scattering cracked seeds
into carbon-enriched soil..."
("Let the Wildfires Burn")

The book is somewhat steadfast in its refusal to let the reader draw his own conclusions (in fact, the end of that very poem is "...if there is no other way out/of this age of too much known and seen/then let the wildfires rage."), but Dacus on her game, simply describing and not editorializing, is a very good thing indeed, and well worth checking out. ** ½

Rachel's poems and her intimate uncensored view touched me deeply and enlivened my own memories and emotions. As I read, I traveled with Rachel in "Christmas Week in San Felipe" to childhood escapes into beauty as respite from family tensions, marveled at the wonders of the universe (both external and internal) in "Twice as Much Starlight", wept at the loss of children unborn in "Clouds Crossing Sun", and felt exhalted by discovered beauty in "Tensil Strength..." These are poems to visit often!

In Earth Lessons, Rachel Dacus composes poetry that is layered as richly as layers in the earth's crust. Her ability to write well-crafted poetry that also has strong elements of sound makes the reader wish for the chance to hear her read in person.

In this collection, there are poems about nature but they aren't fraught with hand-wringing or idealism. In "Let the Wildfires Burn," she demonstrates an understanding of how some species of trees regenerate with lines like "One kind of pine can only propagate/with a blaze, exploding pine cones/scattering cracked seeds/into carbon-enriched soil." The fires that threaten developed areas aren't necessarily a catastrophe in nature. She then holds up another set of images, with the world as a back drop, a world "...burning/with grab and rape,/slop, grope, and scream." This poem illustrates the author's capability with poetry that is based on scholarship, but that extends to the roots of poetry as well, for its aural qualities.

The voice in each poem manifests as a natural creature interacting with the natural world in terms of specifics woven by poetic figure and imagery. One of the most beautiful poems, "The Guest," illustrates the poet's role in creating art from nature, in elevating everyday items to a level found only in poetry. Speaking of the muse, or inspiration, she opines that this guest comes, "When the table is spread/with fresh surrender/on clean, white hopelessness." The final stanza speaks of longing and determination, "He left a note in a flower/yearning for its own fragrance./I mailed my reply to the ocean." Those last lines unfold like a wonderful surprise tucked away inside the inner-most of a set of nesting boxes.

Rachel Dacus's poetry can be found in a multitude of magazines and Net sites, but the bonus is being able to have so many poems in one attractive collection. Earth Lessons is a quality product, not only in terms of poetry, but also in terms of the cover and text stock, the photograph on the front, and the inside covers that wrap the book in a lovely visual texture.

It would make a fine gift, or an entertaining read for those days that we can savor with a favorite beverage, some time for self, and a good book.

Each poem is a meal you can enjoy over a long and drawn out savory ride of lessons about the heart as seen through nurturing earth images. Delightful!