THE BLUE WHALE SINGS FROM AFAR

A poet considers the color blue in this collection of poems from Bérard.

Art in the last century has given blue a dour reputation—from Picasso to Joni Mitchell, artists have harnessed shades of cobalt, indigo, and cerulean, in both literal and metaphoric senses, to express sadness, melancholy, and enduring grief. But for the author, blue can evoke the coming of spring, the timeless reverence for a summer butterfly, a nymph frolicking in fall, or the prevailing color of winter. The word blue appears more than 20 times in this slim volume, both in poems and in the brief notes that demarcate the book’s four sections, which are denoted by season; the book’s epigraph is a German phrase that references blue as well. These poems, eschewing rhyme schemes and often employing short lines and few stanzas, frame blue as a color of possibility, providing a throughline for Bérard’s speakers. The largely languid, relatable experiences described in poems such as “Breakfast in Bed” and “A Cup of Tea” eulogize a simpler time “Where there was no war / No lust / No greed / No shame”(“The Swan Who Swam With a Heart”) and celebrate its simple treasures, such as rain, the smell of the sea, or even a delectable pear tart. The author has lived an international life, with time spent in her native Mexico as well as Scotland, Switzerland, England, and Austria; some of the poems (“Morgen,” “Scotland”) allude to this globe-trotting. Some of the shorter poems lack depth and acuity, making familiar statements that, while passionate, utilize clichés or stale language to convey vague themes: “Writing is my life / Reading is my life / Dreaming is my life.” The poems that stick closest to the blue theme, using it to evoke an emotional state, are the book’s best and most nuanced. They employ the color as a means of introspection and appreciation, particularly for things natural and whimsical.

Poetry in shades of blue hampered by uneven prose.