Chris Legge’s ‘A Whither in the Twile’

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Have you ever wondered if you have been “here” before? Do some things seem so familiar, and others odd and foreign? Have you ever wondered if someone were brave enough to stand outside of their normal life and listen hard for that which comes from not only the past, but sings loudly from nature’s otherwise silent and gorgeous creations, seemingly placed here for us to notice? If you have wondered these things, then your desire to know will be supplanted and reaffirmed deeply by Chris’ courageous poetry.

The elegant and sometimes sparse language coasting easily on his love of Martha’s Vineyard might take you to a surprising portal, sometimes an unfamiliar but strangely welcoming place, riding securely atop lyrical rhymes and rhythms.

Love poems, like “A Rock from the Scottish Highlands,” hide joy and long-awaited tenderness trading places from human to earth. Love poems to the waters of the earth like “Evamore” take you on the never-ending change of life’s seasons.

The inner nature of the wonders of this world are perfectly revealed by welcoming heartfelt words, now rendered visible by the familiar vernacular of light shining within his poems. Be prepared to take a ride through a well-polished soul whose motivation to write refreshingly does not come from a lower sense of self-worth.

If you are looking to open a poetry book to any page and have it hit your reset button, Chris’ book needs to find a favored place in your home and heart.

Peter Ledermann is a Cleaveland House poet.