The Way the Rain Works, by Ralph Earle

The Way the Rain Works front cover

This is a deeply felt book about a family in crisis that lives inside you and lends itself to multiple readings. Sad, but not without its small, yet sustaining, redemptions: “In the evening, overflowing with secret love,/ I dangle my feet above the receding/ spillway and listen: ripples. The moon’s/ reflection rides them like a blessing.

How Far Light Will Travel, by Steve Roberts

Experiences that sear but do not wither the soul. Steve Roberts has established himself a voice that does not falsify the cruel circumstances that have commanded these powerful poems to be written.

Unabated honesty and fastidious craftsmanship make these lines almost unnerving in their intensities.  Strong stuff — and strongly recommended.