Parentheses

by Helen Lepp Friesen

Parentheses { } is a collection of poetic observations about life's taxonomy, where the author wonders what is real. Sometimes the limitation of her understanding of this world with its many layers and shadows overwhelms and humbles her to a deep sense of appreciation for the simultaneous simplicity and complexity of the physical and spiritual world. Each poem is accompanied by another extension poem in parentheses. Often script in parentheses is treated as optional, as something that didn't quite fit into the regular text but was vying for inclusion nonetheless. The lines in parentheses in this case are integral to the poem, just like the subconscious mind is integral to consciousness, just like one season quietly leans on the previous one as it slips into the next with but a gossamer film in between. Parentheses { } takes the reader on a journey through the four diverse seasons in both nature and human life. These poems are about meeting God and ourselves on life's trajectory, in the eyes of our children, in the face of complete strangers, in disillusionment and despair, in paradoxes, in goodbyes, and in harmony.

92 pages, Paperback

Published December 1, 2016