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.
A murder of crows across the sky in early light, tide low, rocks exposed, sun creeping through morning clouds. The great wheel turns fashioning color and light, while I join the crows, breathing silence into this world of deliverance.
The green world breathes the last of summer’s softness, while the souls of winter are lost in warmth. Tall grass spires frame the garden’s closing, while from below the ancients tremble earth’s stone pillars, opening rune-carved doors to autumn’s descent.
Slow the turning to cool air and longer nights. Light on the water changes color, the green world burnished to rust. Weary, yet unbroken, I sit with the heaving sea, taking strength from the storehouse. Reading of “Storehouse” with music by Pharoah Sanders.
