The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-12-11
Dignity and Sublimity of Subject Matter
 Evoke Comments


 | Mortis wis eversa est"
 Two groups of sonnets are includ. ed in the volume; also two elegies, and three epistles following his opening poem The Faun". It is difiicult to select one poem more than another for expressiveness. They read like beautiful songs, even and smooth of rhythm and distinc- tive in theme. He uses words that color beautifully the underlying thoughts, such as these in his poem "Narcissus" founded on the familiar Greek myth about the vain youth.
 And Echo said, "Narcissus ~'t c1 the CEOCEANT
 daylp swings
 Her ATT ED bowl across the
 hazc cast"
 Earcissus" "NarciEgds' is one of the longest of the poems and in this as in many others founded on Greek mythology Father Bonn has written with surety and ease. An authority on Greek metre his metrical stan2as throughout the volume are distin- guished by beauty of form.
 As the myth goes Narcissus dying from his own passion for himself was transformed by the gods into tho Anmot u,l,inL ofitl hoe 1ia ,1o yyon Exhorted not to look upon himself Father Bonn's lines tell the story, 70 mother, I have learned, as in
 one hour
 That man is not the center of all space,
 That out beyond him, limitless in
 sphere,
 Stretch forces and wide swinging
 worlds and powers .. ,"
 The poem is brought to an effec- tive close with the significant lines: And there gone back to the pri- mordial cause WIlUuk GICcCt 6IIUulu ICVCI hhlOWJ
 his spirit went,
 And where his body stopped, a
 dropping flower
 still looked upon itself and on the stars.
 1 Vale"
 Vigor and strength predominate in the lines in "Poets", sgNHTin ornaknA ,un ,,n. ,,,tkt1 l,aS
 jaws
 Eat and edge the tollowed sky, When ropes crunch with the teeth
 of saws
 To bite the hands that bleed
 thereby
 The hoarse tars chaunt where
 the grog is warm,
 Out of the wind and out of the
 storm"
 From the Gaelic and Other Classics The dark sadness that prevails in Gaelic literature is expressed in "On His Departure" from the Gaelic of Columba of Daire. Take few lines here and there and Ireland presents itself-"the gulls of Loch Foylel Be- fore me and after, White gulls dart ing But cannot see Fire again for the tear in my soft grey eye '. and 6 blackbird is calling in the Irish sky. But 8 mist has arisen between us, the mist of my sad grey eye"
 Also from the Gaelic of Columba of Daire is the selection ITO Daire", which describes longing for Daire, "the little oak-grove, my small cell" Nostalgia" has sympathetic note, and "The Lament of Queen Gormali" is another poem in Gaelic strain. Special mention should be made of Broken Triad" "Song in Sorrow, Sea- Change, and for the lyrical winter Harvest, and Tree. The sonnets are serious in thought, and "The Upper Room" has 8 deep religious note, "the twelve, poor, ignorant, blind, misun- dcrstanding men; but after Thee they were as twelve bright flames :" We might also mention "Hippolytus in the Moonlight which returns again to the Greek theme, and also 8 very distinguished poem from the Latin of the Venerable Bede, Ne Grex Pusile." Tn romantic vein is "Romancero", in which as the line goes ladies wave to all the brave and darkling- browed who go on mounted palfreys forth to war :" The religious element appears again in "Chanson". and all will like "A Hymn For All Poor Mothers" which appeals especially as the Christmas feast approaches The lines sing themselves, The Noel rose is glowing,
 The white winds are a-blowing, The chilly heath all shiny there;
 the chilly stars come out; And Nance and Polly, Jane and
 Sue,
 Who bore your little children here Come shuddering in all round about.
 He is gO dear, so dear.
 For all ye knew, she also knew, And all ye wept. she wept for too, And laid her little baby there, And smiled on Him for you"  Conclusion
 Nutrition" defines grief for songs unsung by poet. And with this poem Father Bonn concludes this part of his book of poetry. The entire collection and the Canticle merit exceptional praise for their beauty and symmetry Of form and for their distinction of theme. There s no harshness distinguished in the reading. yet there is a modern- ness and freshness In Inc style Of writing. The poems are appealing but not eIoying. We recommend "A. a- -a.. .nat A..