The Long and Short of It

By Matthew T. Birdsall and Birdsall, Matthew T,

"In The Long and Short of It, we listen to an earnest man who has seen disturbing things in the world-- especially the vulnerabilities of unlucky people and--often feels more than he expected to feel. There is a touching energy in his self-talk as he tries to arrive at calm attitudes toward suffering and loss." ~ Mark Halliday, author of Thresherphobe, Keep This Forever, and others "In The Long and Short of It, Matthew Birdsall gives the reader a gift. He depicts this wonderfully in the opening poem, 'To the Reader.' Through imagery, he tells the reader, 'you will feel the damp breeze / settle on your upper lip while sweat / navigates your crow's feet and seeps / into your eyes. / Burning.' Throughout this volume, the poet describes memorable experiences in an unforgettable way: 'The first snowflake that hits you / is my fault, but the blizzard of gray / from the blue sky that vaporizes / in the air or on your skin / is you stealing what I've given you. / What we both wanted.' The poet gives the reader the gift of feeling and imagining key experiences through the art of poetry. Reader, read on." ~ Gary Pacernick, author of The Jewish Poems Matthew Birdsall's The Long and Short of It takes us on journeys to the transcendence of our everyday lives. With a vision that is sometimes elegant, sometimes gritty, and always moving, the poet writes about school, relationships, reading, birth, death, and art. I love his poem about Gauguin, in which 'men longed so deeply / for those soft and supple / bodies on canvas / that they went into the / museum men's room and wept.' ~ David Lee Garrison, author of Playing Bach in the D. C. Metro

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0692246835
• ISBN13: 9780692246832
• Release Date: August 2014
• Publisher: Alabaster Leaves Publishing
• Length: 56 Pages
• Weight: 0.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.1" x 6.0"