num_pages: 80
description: Craver lambastes the omnipotent "They" in his long title poem that makes up the first of this book's three parts. "They" don't care about you, but are sticklers for nebulous societal rules. "They" take and seldom give. No subject is not teachers or police or neighbors or even other poets. The poem is interspersed with occasional prose narratives about, for example, loss and instability that includes "father" among the crimes of "They." This tangential sidestepping adds an interesting quality that nicely shifts the focus of the listing and lyrical poetry. There is no space in these poems for mincing "poetical" words or for impotent yearning for vague concepts of beauty and truth. These poems are tough and realistic. For example, the images in "Manassas" reveal the universe as a place where all creatures make do with what they have, despite individual plans. "Speed-butchering a Deer by Trucklight" explores the shallowness with which rationale can bury respect when a deer is accidentally killed on the road. "Glory to God" takes the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins over the edge when Craver shows that there is no glory unless tragedy and despair also exist. These poems keep language honest.
language: English
title: They Come for What You Love
titlecomplete: They Come for What You Love
ratings_count: 3
publisher: Orchises Pr