Kirjahaku

Poetry. FOR LACK OF DIAMOND YEARS is an idiosyncratic collection of short poems--most under 20 lines--that are a mixed set of free verse, unabashed counting forms like the Hay(na)ku and the Elfchen, and a very minimalist version of John Cage's mesostic form, along with a small number of poems based on colors, and a few that steal freely from traditional American songs. At its heart, FOR LACK OF DIAMOND YEARS is a quixotic narration between realms of being--from the quotidian into the sometimes numinous, sometimes murky realm of the unknown/unknown, and on into a kind of revamped transcendental--the 'what if' and 'where am I' worlds. There is a thread of praise that runs throughout--an embrace of the joys and sorrows of thinking and feeling, of love and loss.

The poems in Ariadne/Dark Dark Shine are, as the starting poem says, "a lost/found/&repeat narration. The arcing-thread--a-whip/lifeline/way/the-magical-gift-given/odd-bit--discovered in an old sewing basket. (Who sews nowadays?) No enchanted sword or mirror--how much braver to pocket the spool of thread, head out, put your finger to a pulse and count. A puzzle sometimes, which simple thing reveals a boon." The question posed, "labyrinth or circle?."