MWSA Review
This is a book of poems about the subject of…crows! I’ve read and written many books of poetry, but nothing extensive about crows until this book. Overall, the book is a blend of poetry, photography, and artwork, which collectively create a vivid portrait of the spiritual power of crows. This power is heartwarming, hopeful, and reflective of the human experience. The community of these birds underscores the importance of community in our lives, too.
The story that opens the book, Community of Crows, captures the storyline and potential impact of the spirituality of crows on our lives, if we but pay attention to crows around us and others around us. We can learn we are linked in life in good ways: “They can teach us if we will stop a moment, watch, and listen” (p10-11).
The poetry is tight, using as few words as possible, which underscores the overall impact. Here’s a brief example in the haiku, Soul-itude, on p. 15: “morning light is here/punctuated with crow caws/now is time for prayer.” There are at least 10 traditional haiku in the book, plus longer poems, and prose poetry. One of my favorite poems was Snow on Ashes (p. 72). This is a moving and musical story about memories of, and love for, the poet’s mother and her spirit. This book may help drive our own self-reflections.
Review by Bruce Berger (February 2025)
Author's Synopsis
Crows have symbolic meanings in many cultures. Incredibly smart, these birds carve a unique place between the natural and spiritual worlds. They fly into our lives and communicate important insights as harbingers of change to come. In homage to the family of corvids – especially crows – we compiled this collection of uplifting poetry, photography, and artwork to shed light on their unique contributions to our human experience here on earth. We hope you enjoy this book and crows find their way to you when you need them.
Format(s) for review: Paper only
Review Genre: Poetry—Poetry Book
Number of Pages: 137
Word Count: 6,385
