Flawed Landscape: Poems 1987-2008

by Sharif Elmusa

"These are an exile's poems, marked by loss but offered with a generous spirit. Through them, the landscape transforms-revealing, through Elmusa's vision, its difficult beauty. This is not grounds for despair, then. But ground to work from. That is hope, indeed." --Melanie Carter, poet

Genres: Poetry

128 pages, Paperback

First published December 30, 2008

Reviews

[bananabreadlover · Rating 4 out of 5]

The back of the book said this verges the grief of being displaced and the joy of being alive. I think that's fair.

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"I count before I pluck my daisy's petals, / for I prefer the illusion of "she loves me" / over the despair of "not"." (No Flowers for Flowers' Sake, 41)

"I want my eccentricity to drift / without leaving a footprint on the paved streets." (My Stella Beer T-shirt Tries to Come out of the Closet, 53)

[Ashley · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Alas, there are always reasons for living."
-from "Soliloquy"

Recommended poems:
"The Little Prince and the Air Force Pilot"
"Roots"
"Sun Lines"
"In Balance"
"Moons and Donkeys"

[Oz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Immediately copied But I Heard The Drops into my commonplace book:

My father had a reservoir
of tears.
They trickled down
unseen.
But I heard the drops
drip
from his voice
like drops from a loosened tap.
For thirty years
I heard them.

[t.h. · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5