Heights and Depths

These poems make up the verbal equivalent of a synthetic cubist painting. Many facets of reality are on display as the poems move through depths and heights of human experience. The opening section presents a harsh evocation of the turbulence and violence in our world, yet with hints of hope. ''We are God’s memories, / Preserved in his world, / Promised a future.'' The second section is in a personal vein, exposing, not without humor, the poet’s struggles to find full self-acceptance as he discovers himself inside God’s love. Section three, in another register altogether, evokes the beauty of intensely observed aspects of the natural world, through which shines the mystery of physical reality. Section four, which includes a dramatic narrative account of a forest fire, moves in the realm of memory, its glories and its sorrows. The last section fleshes out, from a variety of angles, the hints of hope in section one, concluding with a startling (at moments comical) response to the wonder of the ''moon-egg'' that suddenly appears in the night sky from behind backlit clouds--and the poet asks, ''Who laid it?'' The imagery of these poems is original and vivid. We are carried on a truly exciting, unforgettable ride through a vast range of human experience.