Meticulous Moments and Placid Places

Foster’s book of poems offers close observations of fleeting moments.

Structured in two halves, this collection moves from intimate emotional dissections to broader reflections on memory and place. The early poems address lived experiences, parsing heartbreak, confronting judgment, and examining the residue of estrangement and unmet longing. Instances of well-intentioned but harmful sheltering, a verbally abusive relationship, and a looming distance between loved ones are subjects most would be keen to rush through; here they are studied intently. “Spoken to Me” and “You and I” consider relationships that wound while intending to protect. “To the family I never knew” opens with a stunningly relatable metaphor: “It amazes me how I stand amongst my own, / As though I entered the wrong aisle in a grocery store.” Brief pieces like “We are cool” manage to break down common phrases meant to reassure into the empty platitudes they often are. The second half of the collection moves outward into natural imagery and observational writing. Poems like “Island Dreams” and “Rain Thoughts” capture not just setting but atmosphere, striking a meditative tone that matches the introspection of the first section. Throughout, the recurring motif of time—its control, stillness, and loss—appears across the work with a quiet urgency. Not every piece lands; “Honey” is too lean and reads like an ad for a home remedy, and the inclusion of “Mystifying Box” twice feels more like an editorial oversight than a formal experiment. But even the uneven moments seem part of a larger aim to revisit the unresolved, sit with discomfort, and turn ordinary encounters into sites of emotional inquiry and inspiration. The author’s steady voice, always plainspoken and accessible, complements the verses’ dogged insistence upon capturing as much of a moment as possible.

Unflashy but deeply sincere, this debut offers intense introspection.