Hosho McCreesh. Sunnyoutside Press, $10 paperback (52p) ISBN 978-1-934513-09-5
Hosho McCreesh is mad at us. Because we’re dummies. Because we’re big, dumb animals. And we’re missing out on the simple things. The good things. The beautiful things. Because we’re living our lives poorly. We’re being selfish and destructive. Maybe because we think we have no other choice.
I read this book just before I went to sleep, and I was pleasantly wowed. The language is clean, clear, and brilliant. It’s a quick read, with poem titles nearly as long as the poems themselves. There is a sadness and disappointment that runs throughout, but I often found myself jolted by the beauty in which this very sadness and disappointment is detailed.
From the title poem,
“meanwhile a flock of sparrows
banks hard into a bright headwind;
driven heavenward, they flash into silhouette
across the belly glow hum
of the cold, doomed morning sun—
so much,
simply lost
on
us.”
It’s no small feat to craft pensive poetry that is both widely accessible and enjoyable, but that’s exactly what Hosho McCreesh has accomplished here with seeming ease.
This collection is a sharp wake-up call, a welcome alarm clock. It isn’t necessarily new, it was first published in 2008, but I feel it deserves our attention which, as Hosho might be quick to point out, has a tendency to wander much of the time, and not always to the best of places. (2008)
Purchase For All These Wretched, Beautiful, & Insignificant Things So Uselessly & Carelessly Destroyed… HERE.
Reviewer bio: Mel Bosworth is the author of the novel FREIGHT. Visit his website at melbosworth.com
