Cloud Moving Hands

by Cathy Song

These poems, threaded by the teachings of Buddha, examine loss—the death of a loved one, the longing for a child, the yearning for another place and time—and the suffering such attempts transpire, but ultimately the poems are an affirmation that to be born into human life is our greatest opportunity to transform loss and sorrow into awakening joy.

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2007

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would recommend this. The author is apparently Buddhist and was dealing with the slow death of her mother while writing these. Transcendent.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was initially interested in the Buddhism underlying many of these poems. It's a thoughtful collection that engaged me fully, especially the series about Song's mother's decline and death. My appreciation was hampered by poor choices made in the book's design. It's attractive, but there wasn't enough contrast between text and page to comfortably read, the font size was small, and the font used had sharp edges that bothered my eyes. I found and read the title poem on the web and was impressed and awed by its depth and beauty, but its presentation in the book was not nearly as memorable. I want to reread this one, because there's so much I missed my first go-around.

[Julie Koh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful, lucid and so, so tender. I love the understanding of Buddhism that permeates throughout the book and, in particular, the relationship between poet and mother explored with meditative clarity but also heartfelt urgency.

[Yong Xiang · Rating 4 out of 5]

The words are simple but suffused with a gentle, graceful beauty. My favourites were the poems about the poet's mother, and also the ones that read like fables. The ones that were about Buddhist concepts I enjoyed but maybe didn't fully understand. Still, I really liked this.

[cowgirl sushi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very nice but predictable.