In this new collection of 52 poems, we see a master at the height of his powers, one who has allowed the “wildness” of existence to drive out arrogance. He is our witness on the “yearning shore,” reminding us that even when the world feels shrouded in “desperate folly,” we are not lost. He teaches us a way of communion that requires no chanting or spells—only “one simple yes” to the wonders that persist despite the darkness.
Don Hynes is more than a poet of our generation; he is a keeper of the “hidden stone,” the birthplace of beauty. He reminds us that even as the cultural landscape seems to “descend,” we have the “stars in flight” to guide us. He proves, through every carefully chosen word, that we are “children of the eternal,” and that even in the deepest frost of the soul, we are good.
The dark tide surges shoreward, cresting white on crags of stone in night’s cold embrace. Stirred by the sea, my heart swells with the throbbing pulse— an ancient song of belonging. We never left the sea. How could we? We only learned to breathe on these green islands and rose
Howling for justice while trampling hope, curses swell with fury under dark morning skies. On this day of choosing let the river of blessing flow from our hearts— like the Magdalene bearing seeds of the Anointed through long nights of ignorance, giving birth to light. Reading of “Seeds
From the deep earth well sunk in the bedrock of origin, I draw my morning draught, rich with the minerals of tree root and starlight. My tongue savors the taste of metal and sweetgrass, binding me fast to the brotherhood of crows who ferry the tang of iron across a
