Publisher's Synopsis
Through restless questioning, the speaker finds a balm for suffering in the divine beauty and mystery of the natural world. Seven prose poems woven into the collection deal with different aspects of a young girl's life-threatening illness. Five additional poems wrestle with the grief of suicide and the emptiness afflicting those left behind. Other poems in the collection reflect on how to approach daily life while coping with heartbreak and express wonder about our responsibilities in a variety of roles: as parents, as neighbors, as an imagined anchoress, as children of God.
The language remains beautiful and precise throughout, whether the speaker lies "in a gully cracked / with stars" or tells herself, "It's a handmade raft I live on." The speaker entreats, as in Psalm 27, "teach me how to live." Dwelling attentively in the abundance and mystery of creation, the book aims to offer a comfort and peace that might "even the dark."