Reviews and Thoughts

Title: THE SPIRIT LIFE OF BIRDS


Author: Maia


Publisher: Adder's Tongue Press, Ventura, CA, www.askewpoetry.org


Price: $15.00 USD


ISBN 978-0-9856138-08



Maia and the folks at Adder's Tongue have released a powerful testament to the relationship between a couple and the profound pain of separation. Maia first met Charlie in 1979 and two years later began a bond that lasted physically until Chalie's passing in 2005 and continues, emotionally and spiritually, today. In THE SPIRIT LIFE OF BIRDS , Maia allows the reader to glimpse her love, loss, and longing in a way that is poignant and sensual at the same time.


Her imagery is taken from the natural world and the music they shared, especially the Portuguese mornas and fado of Brazil and Cape Verde. Every plant and bird, every note and song is a reminder for her. She has presented them with such control and impact as to make Charlie, and her own grief, familiar to anyone who reads these poems.


This is not to say that it is all wailing and hair tearing. Maia also shows the profound gratitude for being able to share this world with the one she was meant for. She does this with a grace and softness that is the perfect counterpoint to her loss. One cannot read these works without being touched, saddened, and uplifted all at once. Congratulations to both Maia and Adders' Tongue on a beautiful book.

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