|
WHAT WE TEACH THEM
My daughter sits on the edge of her seat
so her legs can dangle and says,
her voice stretching the length of the bus,
That man looks like a monkey.
I flush, because he will never know
how much she likes monkeys,
how, at the zoo, we watch them endlessly
swinging through truncated trees. She says
they twinkle because they are having fun.
Perhaps the man would like to look
as if he’s having fun, but she and I discuss instead
hurt feelings and rudeness, until she stammers,
But I like the way he looks
and the man smiles, a real smile,
a smile that says connection, but she
now has a pinch of doubt.
Poem by CB Follett from "At the Turning of the Light."
|
|
Reviews
CB Follett is attuned to the rhythms of the natural world and to the nuances of the inner self. She has a way of weaving in and out of the two, creating a complex tapestry of words that brings power yet intimacy to each. “At the Turning of the Light” is an astonishing collection by a gifted poet.
-Susan Terris, Co-Editor of Runes, a Review of Poetry,
author of Curved Space
“CB Follett’s linguistic achievements in at the turning of the light are to be admired. Let’s take a look at her MUSIC: “All the deep, hot-cheeked longings”, and her IMAGERY: “Death, that jackrabbit specter of bones and shadow”, and her idiosyncratic IMAGINATION: “The synapses that snap like wet ropes in the morning”, and her use of NARRATIVE: “The dogs are going crazy, running in eddies around and around”, and her subtle DRAMA: “how important the open window becomes when you think about never”. Follett layers her poems and emotionally complicates, compelling the reader to follow syllable by syllable. These are lush, moving, wonderfully accessible poems.”
– Martha Rhodes, author of Perfect Disappearance
CB Follett’s “At the Turning of the Light” defies definition. She combines power, dramatic intensity and a sweeping flow. Her voice is like an instrument creating elegiac and celebratory music. Whether she is dealing with the natural world, a world with which she is infinitely familiar or the inner world touching upon pain, her poems are full of striking images. Her gift of observation, her natural acceptance for whatever life presents whether it be loss or gain is tempered by her wit and ability to look at things, on occasion, deliciously askew. “At the Turning of the Light” is truly an appropriate title for the subtle variations and multiple layered shades that color this fine collection that will engage the reader for many rich and pleasurable hours.
-Ruth Daigon, Editor of Poets On, author of The Moon Inside
Living on this earth has inspired CB Follett mightily. Her poetry is alive, and reading it has made me more alive.
-Jim Barnes, Managing Editor, Independent Publisher Online
|
|
At the Turning of the Light, by CB Follett.
ISBN 1-887573-09-7
About 120 pages, 6" x 9", perfect bound paperback.
Price: $10
Salmon Run Press, P.O. Box 672130, Chugiak, AK 99567
|
