The Secret Language of Women

by Terry L. Martin

In The Secret Language of Women, Terry Martin paints a portrait of a world in which the most crucial language is often wordless and mystical. In these powerful poems, the sublime is housed within the domestic: kitchens are cathedrals, and the "geometry"

of rituals sustained by women teach us how to sing. Even as she acknowledges the transience and fragility

of all things, Martin finds constancy in the patience of boulders, and locates hope in the brilliant firelight of the firefly.

This is a collection about what we dare to love and what dares to love us back. It's a celebration of the many paths we take as we edge toward "the warm, the changing light."

Lucinda Roy

83 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2006

Reviews

[Tatiana]

In general, I am not a fan of dog-ears, much preferring the inconvenience of sticky tabs buried beneath the clutter of my nightstand. And yet, at the closing of this compilation, I find that I have heedlessly bent the pages of 8 poems, their corners now crimped and crooked forever.

"Her Place" speaks to me about myself.

"Among Things that Break" keeps me re-reading, noticing details and quiet meanings.

"If We Could Go Out to Lunch" leaves me with a sigh and a shudder, a tingling throughout my spine.

"Raking, Sorting" reminds me that a yes should mean something.

"Trail" redefines the craft of line breaks.

"The Singular, the Solitary" forces my gaze inwards.

"Like the River, You Cannot Stop" murmurs my mortality.

"What the Notebook Holds" urges me to feel each day, to hold it, and look forward to tomorrow.

When there is so much momentum left after a book is back on its shelf, it's impossible not to present an offering of 5 stars plucked from the sky.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best poetry reads I've had!