Customer Reviews

In the Salt Marsh

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

 

 

I obtained this collection after reading some of the other writings by the author. It is a nice collection, with poems in different forms. The poems reflect various observations by the author, from eloping to walking on the beach. It has a total of 33 poems on 50 pages. It is a convenient size to tuck into a bag to take along on a trip, either commuting or traveling a longer distance (or maybe just going to the beach).

I bought this book because I fell in love with her poem The Ladybugs.

A woman pays the passage for this natural method of ridding dangerous pests from her trees.

"They arrived, famished and sleepy,
in a muslin bag slim as a pencil case,
or a reticule for opera glasses,
or very small change."

We soon learn:
"The ladybugs will want a drink
after their long journey.
Sprinkle the sack before releasing them.

I shook handfuls of water over them.
Drops big as bombs pounded their shelter,
a mass baptism into our human ways.
They did not buzz or beat their wings,
but as the warmth of my house woke them,
I saw a shifting of bodies, of muscles rippling,
like waves adjusting themselves to a passing boat."

Later:
"Under the full moon I carried my guests
to the afflicted catalpa waving its green flags."

It's a fairly short poem created with such delicacy and precision that its little springs continue to live in my mind.

I gave it 4 stars because I didn't love the other poems nearly as much as this one. But this may be why none of us should have the authority to give star ratings in the first place!