Tree Fall with Birdsong

Tree Fall with Birdsong explores the natural world around the poet's home in Mississippi and delves into memories of the rural landscapes of Iowa where he was raised, Flanders, and other places he has traveled. These poems look to the natural life cycle as a corollary of loss and renewal, both in response to illness and death of family and friends and to the collective sense of grief in the wake of the recent pandemic. Often overlooked details of daily life and nature lead to deep insight. Mortality, seen in "Tree Fall" with the loss of steadfast and familiar trees, is complemented by the creative force of "Birdsong." The poems range in form and length from narrative free verse to a sequence of haiku, a pantoum, a ghazal, and a creation story. They include ekphrastic poems, retell myths of the underworld, and connect to the lore of wildflowers, snakes, birds, and trees.