poetry/New England/Maine

THE SONG SHE GUARDS

The Song She Guards by Irene Howe The Song She Guards
by Irene Howe
Biddle Publishing Company Poet Irene Howe has been published in such periodicals as Northeast Journal and echoes. In this, her first book, the poems are "beautifully crafted works that have the ability to startle and surprise." [ME Sunday Telegram]
ISBN: 1-879418-18-5
©1995
$8.00 US
Softcover

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EXCERPTS

THE CUP

The pulse of the house
has slowed to an empty throb.
Deep into the daily dusting
of her life, the old woman stops
at the tarnished silver baby cup
retired on the shelf.

She lifts it gently, cradles
it in her palms to move it
slowly toward her chest.
Pressing it firmly against her breastbone,
she breathes deeply,
then returns it to the shelf.
Polish will not quench
such deep thirst.

IN EACH VESSEL

I don't know how often she does this,
but she's outside again
mumbling to herself as she
does when she thinks no one can hear.

Her gray head's bowed as she hopes,
through sheer force of will,
to undo the weight of snow upon snow
constricting into itself
so she can set the flowers free.

She has the eyes of Michelangelo
as he tries to penetrate marble,
discover the form waiting within
and chisel the vision true.

Somewhere deep inside she remembers
the lost tribe who long ago knew enough
to create each piece of pottery
with an extra opening so the spirit
within each vessel would not be trapped.

So she's out there again, in the cold,
talking herself through her days
in some primitive tongue,
searching for the opening.

REVIEWS

"In her collection of poems, Irene King Howe makes courageous gestures of faith... She embarks on an exploration of human contact with the world. In The Song She Guards the spirit is allowed full flight and is a courageous offering to a world of guarded hearts."

Maine In Print

"Irene King Howe offers a sheaf of 51 elegant poems. Each works well on its own, while combining to describe a sojourn from place to place, year to year. These are beautifully crafted works that have the ability to startle and surprise. Each has its own power and deserves to be read and reread."

Maine Sunday Telegram

"Her poetry is quiet, reflective and unobtrusive. Howe writes free verse of the common contemporary sort, which eschews melodicism and passion for a hushed conversational tone. It cannot be sung or declaimed. It observes and records. On the back cover, another poet says this book contains 'electric poetry.' In fact, it feels more candle lit, maybe twilit."