27 Apples by Chloe Viner

In Viner’s capable hands, everyday objects and activities become ways to approach the harsh realities of rape, suicide, and crippling depression, and to explore the mysteries of being human. Here, cooking imagery illuminates reincarnation, depression is described as a patched gray top hat dripping water on the rug or as a rebellious dog who won’t heel, a lover’s kiss is the last sugary sip of coffee, a panic attack like vertigo on top of a 10,000 foot tower, a woman’s life summed up by her hairdo. Ultimately, these poems of loss and renewal-this difficult, beautiful dancing on broken glass-offer the gift of greater compassion and understanding.

–Cait Johnson, author of Earth, Water, Fire, and Air