One Last Mountain

Good looks, gone; children,
elsewhere; friends, found only in
memory; and yet
despite the aches and silent
days, dawn’s chorus suffices

A dark, bitter sea,
bone cold, forgotten and come
upon later in
a stained white cup, tea’s last sip,
with time’s march, is acidic

In a half moon’s glow,
after a sunset’s burnished
red, the world’s evils,
all too familiar, cannot
compete with tonight’s rerun

I’m encumbered by
baggage I cannot shrug off,
there are so many
things I’ll never seen again;
still, one last mountain awaits

Diminishing Returns

Most birds know better than to
chorus before a hint of sun prompts them.
A creature of habit, arising
in night’s shade, I must await the trees to
come alive with song.
Summer’s last fling over, a street cleaner
can be heard sweeping
away the debris left by yesterday’s festival.
Today, it is back to business.
Soon, with the light, bleary eyed children
facing a new school year
will be roused to confront blackboards
chalked with fresh formulas.
Recent vacationing beach bums, at their
desks again, with a click
will find themselves drowning in emails.
But in this pause before
daylight’s demands, a temporary truce.
Brief though the moment is,
in its no man’s land, confronted with
another season’s demise,
I resist calculating diminishing returns.
Appreciating the clock’s
hesitation and the bird’s rapt silence,
time and I stand still.

Winter / Ali Smith

This novel is the second book in Ali Smith’s seasonal quartet––Autumn, Winter, Spring, and Summer.  While not a sequel to Autumn, per se, it does share many of the same themes introduced in the previous work.  Both are set in post-Brexit Britain, shortly after Donald Trump has become president in the United States.  The division this has caused in today’s society is cleverly woven through both stories.  Even though this book features a fresh set of characters, they, too, are dealing with the same troubled world, both inside their own families and in the broader world around them.  A theme that particularly stands out is the interaction between the young and old characters that Smith presents.

Ali Smith, a Scottish author, has always excelled in lacing literary puns throughout her novels,  this book being no exception.  The first two books in the series are clearly political in nature, but they are made more real by presenting topics at a personal level.  What makes each work special are the weird detours she takes in her storytelling, taking the reader down strange paths that jump back and forth through the lifetime of her characters.  And each of the characters she presents on the page are a delight to get to know.

Smith is not a household name here in the States, but she should be.  Her novels are quirky, but a pleasure to read.  I am now wending my way through Spring, the third book in the series.  I continue to marvel at her word play and the clever way she weaves her disparate stories into a satisfying whole.  Her seasonal quartet stands out as the best in fiction when it comes to describing this strange new world we find ourselves living in.

Tales From The Ant World / Edward O. Wilson

From earliest youth, Edward Wilson had an interest in natural history.  Gradually, he narrowed his curiosity to the insect world, finally deciding in college to focus his professional career on the world of ants.  While the memoir portions of the book seem braggadocios at times, he does a wonderful job of taking the reader inside the colonies of various species, showing how they have cleverly adapted to whatever landscape they find themselves in.

The chapters that stand out are the ones that focus on the culture, ecology, and diet of the numerous species.  Also described are the parasites that share the ant home, often to their benefit.  A male ant serves only one purpose, to inseminate the queen; after that they are either killed or chased from the colony.  All the actual work in the nest is carried out by the females, be it food gathering or in protecting it from predators.

This book serves as a good introduction to a world that we pay little attention to beneath our feet.  Having outlasted the dinosaurs and changing climates, it seems likely their complex societies will persist long after removal from the scene.  While disorganized in places, for anyone interested in these creatures, it won’t disappoint.

Backwater

In this backwater
of a state, how far away
the world seemed.
Infused with youth’s day-
dreams, I cleverly
crafted my great escape.
But having turned
the page on that century,
I have come to
see that the term remote
no longer applies.
We share the same home.
Today’s hazy sky
waters eyes from a spark––
one igniting a flame
I once thought to be none
of my concern
in the day’s scroll of news.
Under a shared heat
dome, I no longer need to
imagine a distance
that is removed from here.
No one is isolated
now that the entire globe
has been resized.
In this fragile lifeboat, we
sit side by side.

Sweet Dreams

“You’re silly,” Mother said,
“there is no reason
to be afraid of the dark.
Just as in the theater
the lights must go down
before you can see
the film, so too this room
must be dark for
tonight’s show to begin.”

Incoming

These incoming
pings, dings and rings
are a backing
soundtrack that accents
our dialogue.
Attention diverted,
the occasional text read.
Apologized for––
an important call taken.
Even if set
to vibrate, a twitch
betrays another
presence in the room.
Although its
ringer has not been
muted either,
my phone is a silent
monk meditating.
How lonely I feel in this
circle of friends.

Dead Wake : The Last Crossing Of The Lusitania / Erik Larson

On May 1, 1915, with war raging in Europe, the Lusitania, a four-funneled, 787-foot Cunard passenger ship set off from New York City for Britain, despite a threat by Germany to sink any and all ships approaching British waters.  Seven days later, off the coast of Ireland, a U-boat fired a single torpedo that sent the ship beneath the waves in 18 minutes’ time.  It resulted in the death of 1,200 people, including 128 Americans.

Erik Larson is a master of presenting narrative nonfiction, and he has rich material to draw upon for this book.  In it, he introduces a number of passengers onboard, from the ship’s captain as well as the captain on the U-boat that ordered the fatal torpedo to be fired, and broadens his scope to describe the British and American governments’ possible involvement in the ship’s sinking.  This creates a rich stew, as he seeks to explain whether the sinking could have been prevented.

It is now known that the Lusitania did include in its hold war materials needed by the British, and that Britain did nothing to protect the ship (perhaps intentionally) as it neared its waters.  But Larson also shows that the opportunity for the U-20 to sink the ship happened merely because of a change in the weather.  If the day’s fog had lingered just a few minutes longer, the ship would have safely made its destination.

Dead Wake proves to be a page turner, thanks to Larson’s gifts as a writer, despite the fact that from the onset, the reader knows the outcome.  Many people today think that the sinking of the Lusitania resulted in America’s declaration of war against Germany.  But while the event changed the feelings of many Americans about joining the conflict, such a declaration did not take place until 1917, following a good many other US ships being sent to the bottom of the sea by the Germans.  This book’s approach, placing the reader onboard the doomed ship, makes for a fascinating read.

Autumn / Ali Smith

Autumn is the first in a series of four novels by Ali Smith based on the seasons.  Set during the time of Brexit, the novel’s narrator (for the bulk of the story) is Elisabeth, an art educator who is disgusted by what is taking place in her British village as the community is torn apart by the vote and its results, with the two sides barely able to exchange pleasantries.  While this shadow remains in the background, the focus of her story is on her relationship with Daniel, a man dying in a nursing facility.  Already old when she met him at age eight, he is clearly a father figure to her since her own father has long been absent from her life.

Daniel’s life story is slowly rolled out through the book.  He is a person in love with words and stories, and their interactions throughout result in discussions ranging from mortality to love to classic novels from the past. Daniel is the spark that ignites her future choice of career and the ability to question authority.  But the story’s chronology zig zags from past to present, introducing disparate themes that occasionally leave the reader wondering about the purpose of these detours.  A masterful author, Smith presents a tale that is deceptively simple on the surface, but layered with a depth only realized when the last page is turned.

I’ve long been a fan of Smith’s work, and this novel only adds to my admiration.  If the following three books live up to expectation, it’s likely she will prove to be a writer the European Union will be desperate to import despite Brexit’s severing of ties.

Season’s End

Breeze musky-sweet with
decay, a bright feckless sun
ripens only leaves

As we sip our wine,
tipsy on fermented berries
waxwings refuel

Our windows now closed
and curtained, forlorn moonrise
knocks to no avail

Silent night, holy
night, months before we carol,
the dark rehearses

With the touchdown of
geese, a mallard decides this
pond is overbooked

Before the mist melts,
our white landscape models a
wardrobe long closeted