A Pentecost of Finches: New and Selected PoemsParaclete Press, 2006 - 179 pages "Nothing is unseen or untouched here," the poet Robert Lowell wrote of Robert Siegel's poetry, and it is equally true of this new collection. Moving up the chain of being from inchworm to angel, they celebrate being in all its aspects, from unset'tling glimpses of the abyss to union with nature and that which transcends it--from oracular beasts to ordinary people, from the seismic love of boar and sow to a surgeon's reflections on a near-death experi'ence and "the last tantrum of a dying star." On the way they explore the mystery of evil, the meaning of history, our own mysterious quests, and the human search for transformative joy. His poems rejoice in the being of each particular thing, finding epiphanies in the ordinary, inviting us to step outside ourselves into an "ecstasy of particulars, ? whether daughters ?kicking the water to flame, ? ?the star in the dawn's throat, ? the red ?tomato's pulsing alarm, ? or the silent ?syllable of the moon.' |
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bearing beginning birds blue breath carry circle climb cloud cold comes dance dark dream drop dust ears earth edge everything face falls feel feet field fire flesh float flowers follow gather ghost give glass gold gone grass green ground hair hands hang head heart heavens holding inside invisible lake leaves legs lifting light listen live look lost mind moon morning mouth move never night once pass Poems pool Press pulling reaching returned rise root running secret shadow shake shape silver simple singing skin sleep slow smell smile snow soul space spring stand stars stone summer sweet teeth tell things thought thousand throat tongue touch trees turn voice waiting walk wall whole wind window wings yellow