Matthew Woodman

The Eightieth Year

“Of what is a life composed? In this apophatic lyric sequence, Don Thompson reflects upon the connections and patterns that have wended and frayed throughout his eighty years, harmonizing metaphor, memory, and his maybe-nemesis, the wind. These poems show us how to be attentive to others and how to accept ourselves, whether our oak is a burlap seedling or a stack of cordwood waiting for winter.”