SMALL POEMS AGAIN
By
A fourth collection of brief lyrics inspired by the poet's original vision of ordinary things that the less gifted take for granted--things Such as telephone poles (""Lifting up/Their long/Electric lines,/They hand/Them on/And on, in/Gestures of/Exquisite/Gossamer"") or fleas (""There's always/The threat of those/Inexplicable storms,/When over the hairy/Horizon rages/A terrible paw. . .""). Worth's compact images are drawn with delicate precision; the carefully tuned nuances and echoes of sounds and meanings give the reader the delight of recognizing the familiar through newly perceptive senses: in the library, "". . .Listen to the/Silent twitter/Of a billion/Tiny busy/Black words."" Some thoughts are mind-opening: of a seashell, ""Why did/That little creature/Take so much trouble/To be beautiful?"" Some are playful: the mantis--""Can it/Really be/Wholly/Holly,/Pretending/to pray,/While intending/To prey?"" Some are touched by a bit of quizzical philosophy: the kaleidoscope likened to "". . .earth's/Rough muddle/Jostled to/Jewels and flowers."" Babbit's drawings are quietly decorative, the perfect complement to these small bits of real poetry. A lovely little volume to treasure and savor again.