Narrow Bridge

by Robbi Nester

Carefully crafted, beautifully written, these poems are a bridge indeed between this world and the one that shimmers just beyond us. In one poem, the narrator is a small child trying to capture the moon in her mirror; when that fails, she catches it in a net of words, and that is what Nester does throughout this book in poem after gorgeous heart-breaking poem. These are poems that “sing for the joy of being heard.” ~Barbara Crooker, author of Les Fauves and Barbara Crooker: Selected Poems

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 20, 2019

Reviews

[Murray Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robbi Nester can find inspiration for her poetry almost anywhere. Artwork and news stories are favorites, but her subjects can be found in the kitchen, or the birds outside the window, or the landscape outside a moving car. The results can range from whimsical to profound. However, when she digs into her family and childhood, the results are deep and moving.

[Alarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I’ve never met Robbi Nester, I feel like I know her. We often travel in the same poetry circles, turn up in the same online journals and poetry chat groups. A few weeks ago, I complimented one of her poems on line, and she mentioned that Narrow Bridge never got its share of publicity when it came out. “I’ll buy it,” I said, and I’m glad I did.

Nester writes to many of the same topics I do: about animals, coming of age, family life, quirky things that catch our attention, and topics that aren’t so pleasant to discuss, like “Sandy Hook.” To make it all the more real, she speaks as a child witnessing her teacher’s death:

“…The teacher tries
to hide us, but bullets fly
so fast. Now she won’t
wake up, no matter how
I shake her….”

In a similar vein, she writes “Lament for Emma Lazarus.” Because life can be both a joy and an atrocity, she balances the tone of the book with observations about sea life, a topic that has always delighted me. We both grew up on the Atlantic Coast.

[Tresha Faye · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. In it Nester combines personal history and lush re-imaginings of the natural world to create a collection that feels like mythology. From poems that pose scenarios where Beethoven is a whale to memories of childhood embarassements Nester takes readers on a beautiful ride both cosmic and personal.