In this new collection of 52 poems, we see a master at the height of his powers, one who has allowed the “wildness” of existence to drive out arrogance. He is our witness on the “yearning shore,” reminding us that even when the world feels shrouded in “desperate folly,” we are not lost. He teaches us a way of communion that requires no chanting or spells—only “one simple yes” to the wonders that persist despite the darkness.
Don Hynes is more than a poet of our generation; he is a keeper of the “hidden stone,” the birthplace of beauty. He reminds us that even as the cultural landscape seems to “descend,” we have the “stars in flight” to guide us. He proves, through every carefully chosen word, that we are “children of the eternal,” and that even in the deepest frost of the soul, we are good.
October sun, bright on the water, turning to autumn. The distant mountains bare of snow, the sea windless and calm. Slowly, I turn as well, slipping into the dark well of being, ready to find myself once more in the cold dread of black dirt and root.
Waning crescent in the morning sky marks the slow turn to lunar dark. Autumn strengthens as the green world lets go, heat and light surrendered earthward. Joining the descent to release summer’s weight, I travel to the realm of night sky and root. Reading of “Sky and Root”
Autumn of the soul when memory repents and the fruits of judgment drop into the dark earth of forgiveness. Reading of “Atonement”.
