Tender, luminous, and mindful.
In his second book, Muro invites readers into those in-between hours when the noise of the world falls away and quiet, solitary skies begin to speak. From the opening poem, “Aubade,” his method is clear: slow attention. Morning arrives “like a benediction,” light breaking into “a carousel of mists.” Nature is not a backdrop but teacher; even birdsong feels like instruction. In the first section, Le Stagioni e il Mare, time stretches and bends. In “Breakwater,” a crumbling wall becomes a figure for the human body: “a life / tending to a state of perpetual repair.” Erosion is not only loss, but endurance.
In “In March,” the land is “noteworthy for its rampant emptiness,” neither dead nor alive, teaching that waiting itself is a form of living. “Approaching Arcadia” offers beauty shadowed by unease—some images we “would just as soon unsee.” In Flora e Fauna, animals become companions in being. In “Great Blue,” the heron stands “still as an in-drawn breath,” wondering “how best to navigate this middle stretch of life.” In Cuore e Casa, landscape turns inward. Grief, love, and memory appear quietly, held with care.
A beautiful book that quiets, steadies, and teaches readers how to listen.
Antrim House
Pub date June 13, 2022
Length 176 pages
ISBN 979-8985562118
Price $18.66 Paperback