Geese photographed at Reflection Riding (renamed Reflection Riding Arboretum and Nature Center) by Ray Zimmerman, early 1990s.
Reflections of a Feral Mother: A Brief Review
Congratulations to Cynthia Robinson Young on the release of her recent book, Reflections of a Feral Mother. Her poems exist at the intersection of hopeful children and celebrated ancestors. Those ancestors suffered the exploitation of slavery, Jim Crow Laws, and, in some cases, violent deaths. The stories are told through a mother’s voice, strong enough to weave in her joy and sadness.
Young begins her collection with a poem about a son’s birth and memories of her mother. She quickly moves into stories of her childhood and growth. In “Not Just to Have the Bluest Eye,” (title after Toni Morrison and credited by the author), she relates the experience of a young woman after growing to maturity.
And fifty years later, when her hue was finally celebrated when she could feel free to wear color unashamed of what it might magnify, when she could feel free being the color of dark roast coffee, no cream, she now saw herself as too old to be seen, rated, elevated and treasured...
Cousins, brothers, parents, sons, and the author’s persona populate this book. Joys are there, and also suffering. This family history is an excellent successor to Young’s previous book, Migrations. Reflections of a Feral Mother is available from Walnut Street Publishing.
https://walnutstreetpublishing.com/product/reflections-of-a-feral-mother/
A wild visitor among the semi-domestic Canada Geese at Reflection Riding, early 1990s. My photos from that era are 35 mm color slides. Thanks to North Light Imaging of Chattanooga, Tennessee, for an excellent digitization of several slides.
Here are a few of my own Haiku and a Tanka, composed this week. Bullfrog with six legs Must have eaten a smaller frog Only legs remain Bears in the Smokies Awaken for the tourists Better left unfed The coyote’s howls Remind me of distant campsites A woodland morning The lion arrives Shortly after my breakfast Mewling for a fish My vision is weak Hearing is not much better Sunrise birds still sing Landscapers advise Don’t plant ornamental trees If living near deer A Tanka Listen to the rain It taps on my window glass Like horses hooves Insistent as beavers’ teeth Strong enough to take down trees
Thanks, Ray, for the shoutout, and for capturing exactly what I was hoping to express in my chapbook!