I used to be impressed with words that sang, I used to be much keener.
Many poems have one or two-word line lengths to admit solemnity or drama.
The terms were set. Here Jenkins discards her strictures and celebrates wit instead. John Mateer's third book, Barefoot Speech , looks to nature as a source of inspiration for truth about oneself. The Elephant's Graveyard has some poignant portraits of animals and their treatment, and The Love Letter elucidates a traditional South African love token. Time is place for Mateer, but while he explores his own history, many poems lack certainty and veer between oracular and obvious.