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The Living Law: Poems
106 pages, Paperback
Published March 1, 2024
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About the author
Jesse Keith Butler
1 book1 followerJesse Keith Butler is an award-winning poet, based in Ottawa, Ontario. He won First Prize in the inaugural 2024 ESU Formal Verse Contest and Third Place in the 2023 Kierkegaard Poetry Competition. He will be a 2026 Writer in Residence at Berton House in Dawson City, Yukon. His first book, The Living Law (Darkly Bright Press, 2024), is available wherever books are sold.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
January 2, 2025
An enjoyable collection of a Canadian Christian’s poetry, reflecting on everything from theology and philosophy to Canadian cities and his own marriage and children, all dear to my heart as a Canadian, mom, wife and seminary student. I saw Butler’s Lighting Strikes Churches poem in Ekstasis magazine…
(A church is a makeshifted shelter, a lean-to
thrown up against heaven, a wobbly but warm
enclosure that all the unready rush into
before the sharp edge of the storm)
…and wanted to read more of his writing, thus this purchase. It’s fun to hear the Canadian cities I’ve lived in caricatured in verse and connected to things of the heart. Favourite lines:
The Red Sun Rising
“Come down into the street to see the sunset on the city.
This world’s unwell—a withered shell—but damn sometimes it’s pretty.”
Hold to Mercy
“My Anger’s just the boredom
that the middle class has spun
Around itself…”
The Belltower Blues
“That windy ledge, where we once sat like gargoyles—
Our tear ducts streaming rain, our faces bent
So brightly in anachronistic joy.”
Hymn # 735
“So we stand after each generation,
expectant ears pressed to a tomb.”
I give four stars out of a suspicion that Butler’s next collection will surpass this lovely beginning.
(A church is a makeshifted shelter, a lean-to
thrown up against heaven, a wobbly but warm
enclosure that all the unready rush into
before the sharp edge of the storm)
…and wanted to read more of his writing, thus this purchase. It’s fun to hear the Canadian cities I’ve lived in caricatured in verse and connected to things of the heart. Favourite lines:
The Red Sun Rising
“Come down into the street to see the sunset on the city.
This world’s unwell—a withered shell—but damn sometimes it’s pretty.”
Hold to Mercy
“My Anger’s just the boredom
that the middle class has spun
Around itself…”
The Belltower Blues
“That windy ledge, where we once sat like gargoyles—
Our tear ducts streaming rain, our faces bent
So brightly in anachronistic joy.”
Hymn # 735
“So we stand after each generation,
expectant ears pressed to a tomb.”
I give four stars out of a suspicion that Butler’s next collection will surpass this lovely beginning.
April 5, 2024
Most of the poems in this book are relatable and enjoyable for people who don't think they're into poetry - like me! They're deep, thoughtful, funny at times, sometimes a little over my head, but overall a captivating read cover to cover, or even just to flip through when I need something quick.
May 20, 2025
Very Christian poems. Not my usual thing but I liked the sincerity behind them and also the way Butler weaves new life into old parables.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews