What do you think?
Rate this book
We Bed Down into Water: Poems
John Rybicki offers up an unafraid set of poems in this charged book of verse. We Bed Down Into Water is rich with imagery of family, love, illness, death, and, indeed, water, which seeps in throughout the rivers, pools, rain, and tears. His moving stories, in both prose and verse, struggle to hang on to a vision of the world that can still allow benevolence, luck, and laughter. In this, the collection embodies a it is a tender book of fury, a book of bleak hopefulness. Rybicki’s work is steeped in the biological and spiritual challenge posed by his beloved’s recurrent cancer or the daily challenges of an adopted child who could be, all too easily, lost. He spins these phenomenal struggles into a lyrical book that offers hope and awakens the reader into a new way of seeing.
- GenresPoetry
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2008
2 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
January 13, 2022
https://rogueliterarysociety.com/f/we...
After reading Rybicki’s marvelous third and latest book titled When All the World Is Old I purchased this collection immediately. But what I quickly discovered in this one was its failure to produce the quality of poems found in either of his other two books. This collection has little resemblance to what moved me in his first, Traveling at High Speeds, or in his last masterpiece mentioned above. It is possible that he had become a bit out of sorts when first dealing with his wife’s cancer diagnosis and was still too close to the shocking truth of it all. The fact that his first and last books are such amazing works of art I’ll give him a pass on this one. It is difficult to stay hard when our emotions are so frayed, or when fear and dread take hold and refuse to let go. I love Rybicki. He is always worth reading. He is one of the greats when it comes to writing poetry. But this book sorely lacks the genius, wisdom, and delight so generously present in the other two remarkable books.
After reading Rybicki’s marvelous third and latest book titled When All the World Is Old I purchased this collection immediately. But what I quickly discovered in this one was its failure to produce the quality of poems found in either of his other two books. This collection has little resemblance to what moved me in his first, Traveling at High Speeds, or in his last masterpiece mentioned above. It is possible that he had become a bit out of sorts when first dealing with his wife’s cancer diagnosis and was still too close to the shocking truth of it all. The fact that his first and last books are such amazing works of art I’ll give him a pass on this one. It is difficult to stay hard when our emotions are so frayed, or when fear and dread take hold and refuse to let go. I love Rybicki. He is always worth reading. He is one of the greats when it comes to writing poetry. But this book sorely lacks the genius, wisdom, and delight so generously present in the other two remarkable books.
March 24, 2012
This is an extraordinary, heartbreaking book of poetry. The poets I love best are those whose words make my eyes get hot every time I read a line out loud, and that's John Rybicki through and through; his poems are full of simple, elegant lines that yank the guts and gnaw the heartstrings without trying at all. Coming off the pages is a strong sensation of humility and grace, as if these were the songs of a very ordinary man just trying to understand why the world is so full of feeling - both pain and beauty, side by side, filling up the throat. Exquisite.
December 10, 2015
We Bed Down into Water doesn’t hold back. It is a collection of poems about the wife he loved dearly and who died of cancer. The imagery tends to oscillate between the very small and the very large, unbalancing you at times with how perfect two vastly different images fit together. His language is plain and direct and doesn’t hide behind unnecessary words or confusing dialect. He might as well be speaking to you directly from his heart in the format of a poem.
March 12, 2014
...i don't know how else to love you/so i just start juggling
April 10, 2008
The love the poet has for his wife is the most inspiring and awesome force. I love what this book stands for and what this book accomplishes. I wish John and his lovely wife the best, especially at times like these...
April 28, 2015
This took me a long while to finish; I kept needing to stop and contemplate. Rybicki is one of my absolute favorite poets, and these poems are so intense and true that at times they are hard to read. His pain and his joy are palpable. These poems will skin you alive.
April 4, 2008
Even in sickness and pain, great works of love arise! We love that John is at our library at least once a week here in Delton.
May 28, 2008
Overwhelming
November 3, 2008
Rybicki is certainly a hell of a writer, but I think that my expectations were a little high going in.
December 7, 2011
It's been a while since I read poems this fantastic.
November 22, 2016
Devastating and beautiful.
June 12, 2011
Spectacular.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews