The recurring images of rising and falling, escape and recovery, 
spiritual aspiration, and physical decline provide the unifying 
metaphors of this collection. These poems celebrate the endurance 
and mourn the fragility of "the truths of this world," especially 
regarding the family, the body, and the realities of nature. At the 
same time, they express the yearning for, and the elusiveness of, 
the life of the spirit—"gorgeous beyond sexuality."

"Clarity and honesty make many of these poems accessible and 
attractive."—Maxine Kumin, Final Judge

"Eric Nelson writes poems that (to alter one of his own constructions) 
put off their crowns and 'resume their ordinary lives.' Refusing any 
lyric note that might embellish or patronize or misrepresent the 
people and landscapes he loves, he achieves an art whose 
democratic vistas are an absolute delight to behold."—Sherod Santos
 
"These poems, though deeply rooted in family and our conflicted 
world, will get into your head, and fly."—Peter Meinke  

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ERIC NELSON currently teaches in the Department of Writing and 
Linguistics at Georgia Southern University. He is the author of three 
other collections of poems: The Interpretation of Waking Life, The 
Light Bringers, and On Call.