Review: Perfectly Round Ripples (Made by a Jagged Stone) by J. Flaherty
In the first, eponymous selection in the engaging collection, Perfectly Round Ripples, poet Johnny Flaherty recalls throwing three objects into a pond—a golf ball, a jagged stone, and “an old sneaker with laces missing.” They all splashed differently, but then, each one
…made perfectly round ripples
that traveled all the way
to the farthest shores
From this Flaherty suggests that our deeds, whether good or bad, will likewise make equal, round ripples in the cosmic sea – a motif reflecting the serene and emotive nature of these poems. He often returns to water, to the sea, for inspiration, as […]