A deeply philosophical, Christian-based work of romanticism revisited. The poet guides us through his agenda of faith, nature, and spirit in three chapters (Faith Of Our Fathers; An Act Of The Sun; A Spiritual Revolution) totaling twenty-eight poems. Although this chapbook is described in the forward as a work of it sensitivity, a "Work of grace and pain and wisdom," its lyrical nature tends to dull the senses and fails to provide surprise, mystery, and the edge needed to push/pull the reader towards a climatic catharsis. lt is pretty poetry, yes; subtle in meaning, obscure in image, but crisp in metaphor, and touching in its degree of spiritual fervor. This is a vastly different work than a lot of other poetry today. At first read, one wonders where is the tension, the interplay between mind and reality? A second read shows it is indeed there, cloaked in the beat, images peering out from behind rhythmatic slants. If you are looking for nice examples of rhyme, off-rhyme, and alliteration in a lyrical free verse format give Sam Silva's DE LA PALAMBRA a try.--R.R. Lee Etzwiler
This review originally appeared in TapRoot Reviews #2,
Contact the editor, luigi-bob drake, at Burning Press
Copyright Burning Press 1993, 1995.