Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Reconnaissance by Anne Higgins


Author: Anne Higgins
ISBN:978-0692300046
Publisher: Texture Press/2014
Pages: 104

Poetry is very close to my heart. I read it and write it all the time. Reconnaissance by Anne Higgins is divided into six parts.

Binoculars

Like the Eye of the Insects

Knowing Again

Debriefing Magritte

Interrogations

Safe House

Her poems deal with birds, insects, gardens, human diseases, and life's journey, ending in death. Beauty of her poem lies in the poignancy and sadness. One can relate to her poem because she speaks of the quirks of life, the dead end, and inevitable death. When she writes about aging, illness and people, we nod our head at that as if she is talking about us.

The section, Interrogations was not easy to understand. It encompasses life yet it is somehow surreal, happening at another unknown plane. I had to read that section twice to understand it. I am glad I did. 

Her poetry looks at everyday things in a new light, another dimension. That appealed to me. 

One poem which struck a chord is Perdita. It spoke to me. Sharing it here to know why:

PERDITA
If I had a daughter, I would name her Perdita.
Of course, the time when I could have a daughter is long
gone.
But that name, the lost one, calls to me tonight.
Like Anita, and Rita, and Jacquita, Lolita, Florita, it is Latin and
lovely
but it’s lost, too.
So my lost eggs, long ago shriveled up,
and lost nest, more recently, fried by radiation.
Perdita, your name wouldn’t go well with my last name,
or the names of any of the men I would have married,
but you are the lost one,
the invisible one,
the one I never would have had the patience
to toilet train, to least train like a puppy,
to train like a stubborn adolescent.
Never meant to be be a mother,
today, more than old enough to be a grandmother,
I think of long lost tempests,
and you.
I recommend this book of poems for all poetry lovers..
Posted it for Poetic Book Tours

10 comments:

Harvee said...

Yes, I would love to read these poems! (I had to choose pictures of sushi in order to leave a comment, and then type in a verifying number)

Trish said...

I use to really enjoy poetry. This has sparked my interest.
trish - my teaser

gautami tripathy said...

I don't have word verification. Why it is showing captcha, I don't know!!

Serena said...

I noticed you had captcha the other day! I am so glad that you liked this collection and thank you for being on the tour!

Sandra Nachlinger said...

I don't read much poetry, but this book sounds lovely. Thank you for the recommendation.
My Tuesday post features THE OTHER SIDE OF HEARTACHE.

Valerie said...

So glad you enjoyed Anne's book! (I'm Valerie, part of Texture Press group).

Unknown said...

Sounds beautiful :) I'll give it a look!

Eustacia Tan said...

Sounds like a good book of poetry!

thanks for having stopped by my blog! ^^

JLS Hall said...

I used to read a lot of poetry, but haven't read much lately. I should do something about that. Thanks so much for sharing this.

Rin said...

I'm not really into poetry but this sounds great though. :)