AT THE POLES

Poetic observations about the wildlife of the far north and south.

The confident metrics and wordplay that mark Elliott’s previous sets of wildlife-themed poems is on bright display here as he cheers on 15 creatures from the Antarctic krill and colossal squid to the Arctic narwhal (“A singular creature / with a singular feature”) and polar bear: “On the ice / or in the sea. / We would not / love the world / so much / without / your lonely / majesty.” Not just the bear but all the figures in Rooney’s accompanying digital and patterned-paper collage portraits pose majestically in icy natural settings, sometimes singly, sometimes in family groups or swirling schools. Except for the tardigrade, which gets a playful depiction as a sort of balloon creation, the animals are rendered with reasonably anatomical exactness. In comments at the end, the author expands on references in the verses—offering nature notes for each wild creature while marveling, for instance, that the function of the narwhal’s unique tusk remains unknown and clarifying a line about the orca being “a master of predation / from / the kingdom of the dead” by explaining that the name is derived from Orcus, a Roman god of the underworld. Respect and appreciation for the natural world shine brightly throughout this seamless mix of words and pictures.

A pleaser for animal and nature lovers.