Desert Light

What is striking about Desert Light is that the "traditional" Southwest poems are human, i.e. "a chorale of clouds," "night shuts its ears," "the wind walks quietly," "the sky is a woman," while the poems that are written in first person or second person are more organic. You would think it would be the other way around, but this combination becomes an elegant melding of wide-open spaces and interiors. Some of the poems are heartbreakingly tragic but written with such finesse, they catch you by surprise and take your breath away. For every little girl trying to grow up with one shred of dignity and self-esteem, "When I Thought I was Pretty" will give you a name for the lady whose "savage smile could peel skin from stones." "A Dear John Letter On Behalf of My Dignity" should be required reading for everyone. Walker has knocked it out of the park with this quiet, yet powerful and lovely group of poems.