This is high-end creepy.  It might not land for the typical “I want spurting gore and quivering goatsnakes” aficionado – despite the flickering flames on the cover, but the lyrical gifts make this a standout collection.

              Ogres, insects and Jesus share space in these poems.  But they stay in touch with our present world too.

                            Tell what you know now

                            of dreadful freshness and want,

                            our stunned world peopled

                            by shadows solidly flesh,

                            a silted fountain of prayer

                            rising in our throat.

                                                        (The Kiss, page 72)

              This collection, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer and its back cover, eschews “the consolation of fantasy to grapple with the gritty reality of the twenty-first century surround” but that might be incorrect.  Like the fire of its cover, these poems light up the world around them.  The poet’s from San Francisco and the title is a nod to Saint Francis who was all about bringing light to darkness.  Of course, it’s so much easier to just revel in the splendor of darkness…

Next Review>>