Reflective, image-driven, and poised…
Steele’s latest book presents a disciplined collection of poems shaped by observation, restraint, and formal awareness. Some of the strongest pieces are those that ground feeling in physical detail. In one brief lyric from “The Taste of Grief,” sorrow is rendered with quiet precision: “salty tears drip silently / turning roses into bitter wine.” Elsewhere, resilience appears not as triumph but persistence, as “Drained” observes, “there comes a poignant moment / when flames dwindle to smoldering embers … / and all I crave is sleep.”
Poems like “A Lesson in Grief” and “Nan’s Sunday Roast” draw their strength from personal history, where memory is carried through small rituals and familiar details. The natural world quietly threads its way through the collection, from the alert presence of birds in “The Finch” to the slow turning of seasons in “When Spring Comes” and the stark power of “Snowstorm.” Steele’s imagery is lush. Flames flicker, rain drums, petals bruise, wings beat the air; the physical world repeatedly becomes a language for internal states. Short lyric pieces sit comfortably beside longer narrative poems, creating a varied yet cohesive reading experience.
This is a rich, warm, and quietly luminous collection that listens closely to the world.
KBS Publishing
Pub date November 22, 2025
ISBN 978-1763588363
Price $12.99 (USD) Paperback, $2.99 Kindle edition