White Bird

Heart-breaking and life-affirming, Wendell Hawken's WHITE BIRD testifies to the human spirit. This poem sequence, told from the caregiver's perspective, chronicles a beloved's cancer from diagnosis to death. The speaker's farm shifts from background to foreground with its daily chores and animal population, both domestic and wild. With an eye for the transformative in the everyday, Hawken is a poet in command of her craft. Her language is restrained, yet lyrical, as these poems remain accessible with a clear narrative focus reminiscent of Frost. Her images are original: "Wasps have taken to the wren house/hanging from the porch eave/visible from the bed set up in the library." Certain repetitions, such as hawk cries, grow in import as they recur. Her tone never slips into the maudlin and her vision does not blink as events unfold. This remarkable collection will help any primary caregiver feel less alone.