First published in 1996 as a chapbook, Gayle Sliva's HOMESPUN AND WOVEN is a collection of poems crafted from the universally known spaces of marriage, pregnancy and motherhood. These poems span the range of emotions that come to those who work with young children. Quotations from the Queen incorporates sometimes impossible, yet wise quotes from a preschooler, such as "Shadows just tell you where night is."
Electric with lines like, “She's been my extension cord for one full year now, reaching outlets I'd rather not let out,” this collection of poems is honest and pure, simple as a spring day in some cases, and complex as a memory from the poet of her own near-drowning and comparing it to her child choking on food, the very fuel that keeps one alive.
Though some serious subjects are explored, the book is not without humor, such as with Spaghetti Under Duressed -- the words “under duressed” being a play on both “under duress” and “undressed”. Mundane moments such as doing laundry and cutting hair contain love and warmth. The final poem, Letter to my Daughter, is a freeze frame of the cruelty that can be imparted by kindergartners and thoughts of what the future may bring.
*****
Available in the Amazon Kindle Store: HOMESPUN AND WOVEN
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