At the base of my spine glows an orange orb, free-floating amidst the Harrington rods and titanium cage. My low spine fused, my narrative nerves pinched and running the length of this mortal cord from sacral to skull. In between The Greenman, Jesus, Carl Jung dive in and out of the pool meeting their reflection as they sink, first fingers, then wrists, arms, shoulders into the … [Read more...]
The Wrench and Reach of Grace: Feet of the Messenger by H.C. Palmer, reviewed by Wm. Anthony Connolly
Feet of the Messenger by H.C. Palmer / BkMk Press / 9781943491100 / 2018 Everything is here and now --- childhood, beauty, war, peace --- all apiece of a tapestry woven by the expert hands of the warrior poet H.C. Palmer in his debut collection, Feet of the Messenger. The collection of free verse, culled in three sections, presents the entangled memories of a Kansas … [Read more...]
Absences: A Sequence by John A. Griffin, reviewed by Wm. Anthony Connolly
Absences: A Sequence by John A. Griffin / The Esthetic Apostle / In The Presence of Absence In ancient philosophy, the soul is described as a slab of wax. When the soul is impacted by experience an impression is left, often described as the glyph of a signet ring pressed down into the supple wax. Memory, then, is the tracing of what’s left behind, the outline of what … [Read more...]
Cy Twombly’s Lepanto Green
Someone has razed the house and hung its walls vandalized by a tormented resident. Standing back affronted, but scrutinizing the display nevertheless, twelve panels come into view as if roof, hallways, furniture, and floors of this dwelling has been shunted. These are walls, scrawled upon and dirtied by a frenzied hand. These are projections, gargantuan biographical Rorschach … [Read more...]
