Aftermath

"Sandra Gilbert's poems are beautifully situated at the intersection of craft and feeling."—Billy Collins

The title of this collection—at times mournful, sardonic, and joyous—refers to the grief in the wake of loss. Yet these poems aren't just about the consequences of loss but also about the complex experiences of endurance, acquiescence, and rebirth that, with luck, mark the aftermath of sorrow.

from "Aftermath: Kite"
      But the thought is only paper after all,
      a soul that clings to a stick, tears open, shreds
      as if it's flung to the ground in a final shiny fall,
      and at last the line goes limp, the climbing ends.
      Beyond the rush & sweep, an arc of silence—
      though a mind imagined this flight, & proved it once.