Once a Vibrant Field by Patricia Zylius

These poems are so honest I almost feel like I’m eavesdropping on private moments. Patricia Zylius does a wonderful job of capturing vivid images of nature that have special meaning in the context of her loss. There’s a thread of regret through this collection that makes me want to say, “Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure you did the best you could.” But perhaps that sensitivity is one of the qualities that led to such fine poetry.
–Betsy Miller

Rating: [5 of 5 Stars!]

These poems ache with love, loss, regret, and still more love. With vivid images and admirable restraint, Pat Zylius allows us into the tender, fallible, human heart. Once a Vibrant Field is generous and unflinching, a deeply moving elegy.

–Ellen Bass, author of The Human Line

Zylius reminds us that the beloved’s passing is not only a time to grieve but also to plant, remember, renew. Once a Vibrant Field is as much about celebration as lament. Zylius discovers that in dying her beloved friend “is not disappearing / so much as turning / to light.” Her ability to blend acute physical detail with concise narration results in poems charged with the scent of roses that grow more fragrant as they die. “I’m still awash in sorrow / but we are heading out of winter / and the season’s weight / is falling away,” she bravely, and confidently, admits. This book is a language-sown field that insists on blooming.
–Dorianne Laux, author of The Book of Men

These are delicate elegiac poems, full of deep feeling and full of the world. I admire their clean language and well made lines.
–Joseph Millar, author of Blue Rust