Michael T. Ribble
Iron Mountain Winter may infiltrate the psyche during nights of foreboding skies, skeletal trees, and frozen earth but this surreal blanket can descend anywhere or time; during a shaman’s fast, at a besieged Phnom Penh cafe, thumbing rides along the interstate, riding fence in thawing high country, or walking tranquil cemeteries. Pregnant with disquieting emotions, feelings, and reflections; it persists an instant, seconds, minutes, hours or lifetimes. This collection’s ninety poems and vignettes build sequentially to capture this mood; all too familiar to those who experience it.
