Eye of Water

by Amber Flora Thomas

Winner of the 2004 Cave Canem Poetry Prize

The poems in Eye of Water are derived from the narrator’s experiences in what she calls her “waking.”  She traces inspiration to “the beginning of myth, to Eve in the Garden of Eden” and states: “We could spend our lives unraveling the mistake and discover that life was one great big ‘chore,’ and inescapable. And the path is full of missteps and accidents because we cannot (or prefer not to) remember all that got us to that moment.  My body seems to be a symptom of the past, so no matter who touches me, all the ghosts are waiting there. The ‘chore’ becomes how to survive despite the flaws of our humanness that makes us brutal at times.”

Genres: Poetry

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2005

Reviews

[Greta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amber Flora creates lasting images with her poetry and word play. This is a fun collection to hear out loud.

[Curtis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Eye of Water" is an award winning collection of poems about coming of age, coming alive and allowing life to pass through us like water; ultimately molding us into who we become. The more these poems marinate in my mind the more impressed I am by their depth, reflection and maturity.

I liked "Eye of Water" from the start but I also felt like something was missing... That was until I read a poem titled "In My Hand" about 1/3 of the way through the book. It jumped off the page and demanded I read it again and again. The author's observation and meditation of seemingly small details felt almost spiritual as they resonated within my imagination.

My favorite poems in this collection include: "Tree House", "Marlboros at Dusk" and "Magdalene Speaks".

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Eye of Water Amber Flora Thomas has written one of her generation's best first books. 'We are invented / by what we let pass through us,' Thomas says, and a sensory world passes through her poems-regal, yet warm, majestic and domestic, sophisticated, emotional, and wise. Intensely crafted, Thomas's poems thrive on multiple levels of truths in myriad angles. They are literally dazzling. Thomas makes a breathtaking debut with this collection chosen by Harryette Mullen for the Cave Canen Prize.

[Glen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasing volume of accessible, readable, and short poems, many themed around the love of women's bodies and the love of landscape (of course with the presence of water, as the title implies). Favorite line: "We are invented by what we let pass through us" (from "Marlboros at Dusk").