String-Held Kites

In String-Held Kites, vignettes of a life initially grounded in the Pacific Northwest expand beyond the Cascades and coast. We are treated to scenes that chronicle childhood through to grandchildren. In the passing of a father, we are reconciled as "loss go es] out with the ebbing tide." A mother's final gift of her handmade quilt permits us to be "snuggled down on cold / nights, smelling the love." After a full read, we too can see that the "years have flown like string-held kites."

-Paul Ford, former president of the National Federation of State Poetry Societies, Inc.