Standing with Alyosha

By Mark Hiskes

Poetry. "I once asked a surgeon what it's like to heal people. He shook his head, a no, and said, 'Surgeons don't heal people. We fix things that have gone wrong. Others heal people, certainly certain poets do.' A mystery. However, the difference between fixing and offering the healing that comes from deep understanding, firm comfort, from a profoundly informed intuition as to what to say and when, and a fierce allegiance to the life of the soul live throughout Mark Hiskes's STANDING WITH ALYOSHA. These poems lead us into the truth of paradox, a place where we sigh and within that sigh discover joy. When you wander within these poems, you will once again recognize that 'braver still are' those who sit with the difficulty of others. As Hiskes writes in the title poem 'It's the place of darkness / at crossroads everywhere, / offering bewildered travelers / light enough to glimpse / the willing figure love makes or / the long, shivering shadow of its retreat.' This is a poet who has spent years honing his art and a lifetime walking into another's 'place of darkness' bringing 'the willing figure love makes.'"--Jack Ridl

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1948017377
• ISBN13: 9781948017374
• Release Date: March 2019
• Publisher: DOS Madres Press
• Length: 106 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.9" x 8.9"