Spindrift

Read as a figure for the mind, the title points to bits of debris left on a shoreline, each one a prompt to explore. The poems turn familiar things, including a squirrel, a fish, birds, a beggar, an Irish pub, and a dish of food, into metaphors that draw on whatever the reader already knows about them, so the images carry the reader's own associations and feelings. Abstract nouns such as enemy, peace, or patience are also given concrete form, moving from idea to something that can be seen and handled.

The collection is built from small finds gathered along the water's edge and studied up close, so that each one becomes part of the reader's experience. These short pieces start from that encounter and drift away from it, much like the restless feeling of heading to an airport when your mind is already somewhere else. Many of the poems also say one thing on the surface while meaning another underneath.