"Water Lines" includes sixty-three new and selected poems by Shaw, all reflecting the evocative nature of water. The steady hush of falling rain, the white noise of a waterfall, the glittering sounds of a fountain, the washing of ripples against rocks in a clear northern lake, the surging of a mountain stream — Shaw shows how these watery wonders refresh the ear and eye and, further, penetrate the soul.
As with all her poetry on creation, Shaw sees the invisible, thinks the universal, and finds in the natural world superb metaphors for human life: "I think it's the fluidity of water — the way it constantly renews itself — that reminds me of the possibility, and the need, for change and renewal." "Water Lines" vividly captures water's effects on our senses and invites us to explore this persistent reality, which "pools in the Creator's hand," Shaw says, "and falls, like blessing, on all our heads."
Filled with luminous images and insights, "Water Lines" is a book to give, to receive, to savor.
