Banish Misfortune

by R.T. Smith

36 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 1988

Reviews

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

R.T. Smith is probably best known as an editor of the literary journal Shenandoah. Banish Misfortune is a chapbook published early in his career but as he was approaching middle age. Reading it has made me curious about his other work, which I'll gladly pick up when it crosses my path. The work in this chapbook is largely descriptive and embraces natural subjects and the changing of seasons (in life as well as in nature). One poem that manages to transcend mere description in his chapbook is "March Gulls," in which the narrator is feeding sea gulls. The following is an excerpt from the second half:

one at each shoulder, the beaks
gleaming, so close they petal
that I am the axis of a rose

of motion feeding on leftovers.
Endangered, I close my eyes.
Stunned by symmetry and aware

of all human hungers and drives,
I wish to hollow my bones for
music of their atonal scream.

I strain to bristle with feathers,
but fail. The last scrap thrown,
my white disciples scatter, one

by one, petals windblown in autumn.
The sea is closer, gray and green,
the wind at my shoulder suggesting

I fly, as damp sand entreats me
to sink. Bent palms wave calmly,
green, and delight in the dream

of such worship fades.
I walk the beach where broken
bread has made beauty. [...]

___________

This chapbook was an enjoyable read and I look forward to someday reading Smith's later work.