after Robert Francis

Say oxeye daisy tansy yarrow orange hawkweed
purple clover Say skipper mourning cloak silver-

bordered fritillary monarch clouded sulfur Say
blue-eyed grass blue toadflax ragged robin rosa

rugosa shinleaf pyrola jewelweed white campion
Say bluebird swallow purple martin Say dragonfly

honey bee bald-faced hornet Say downy brome
curly dock barnyard grass hop clover Say warbler


— WALLY SWIST

We receive a number of books on different subject. Sometimes, they're right on target. Leslie Cerier, for example, will often send her latest cookbook to us, and we have reviewed (and recommended) her work before (Cont'd).

This week, I found a copy of Marie Gauthier's Hunger All Inside. She's a very good poet, in the school of Many Hands' regular contributor, Mr. Swist.

She turns to the natural world for inspiration. But as a parent, she also turns to her son as a source for her creative work. And her poetry about watching him grow captures the essence of being a parent (and a child). Here is one example, from "The Second Miracle":

we yank him back,
over and over, as irresistibly he goes,
over and over, to that verge.

This is referring to keeping kids safe: that quick grab that every parent has made a hundred times--to stop the road-ward sprint, to prevent the fall, to prevent the flame, to stop the imminent accident...and it also refers to the child's need to push the envelope--to discover what is and is not possible. It's a delicate balance that Gauthier captures nicely in her work.