In the Night Orchard

In the Night Orchard is a retrospective collection of poems gleaned from over three decades of writing by a poet absorbed by nature and culture in the American South. These often-narrative poems are concerned with history, race, indigenous music, the many Southern dialects and customs and the quest for authentic identity. Skull, Grim, and GrinningI forgot how barbed wire snarls-like a low bird's nest-caughtthe cold raccoon last winter.He found his own death there,and each snagged stage of ice,sun and hungry birds had a sayas weeds blew and I foundhuman obligations to occupy me.But after thaw I went walking,saw a twisted root (spring'sfirst threat of snake), red eye-shape of new sumac leaves,deer tracks by the hundred,and on the rotted fence postpolished to blinding shine by sun,the forgotten relic hung,a barbed cocoon coiled arounda fanged white flower of bone.