Natural Causes: Poems

by Mark Cox

Death haunts the pages of Natural Causes , but so does compassion and love. There is little darkness here, and less despair, despite the abundance of cemeteries, loss, and ghosts―both real and imagined.

Mark Cox’s youthful bravado has given way in these poems to an assured sense of understatement. The weight of fatherhood, the loss of a grandmother, the fear of loneliness―these are the details around which Cox plumbs the depths of mortality and memory.

Fully comfortable with the domestic tableau from which he writes, this is a poet never complacent. The penchants for metaphor and the resonant turn of phrase that informed Cox’s earlier work remain as vibrant as ever, indeed are heightened, as he masterfully affirms and celebrates the range of familial complexity and human connectedness.

Genres: Poetry

80 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2004

Reviews

[Todd]

Great poems include 'The Museum of the End of the World' and 'Read Lead, 1978' and 'Willow Run'

[Nate · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books of poetry ever. The closeness that's created between poet
and reader feels so natural that it's almost uncanny. Amazing voice with a knack
for spinning resonant metaphor.