A review by judithhuang
Field Guide A Tempo by Henry Walters

4.0

Henry is a friend of mine from my days on the poetry board of the Harvard advocate, and so read what bias you like into my rating. However, from knowing his work as an undergrad I was thrilled that he had come out with a first collection and immediately got a hold of a copy with high hopes. Those hopes were definitely met with such gems as "From the inside out" and "Milkman" which are able to bring the everyday into the realm of the mythopoetic.

"How frost heaves, or sap runs,
How a bloom or berry plumps to a whole,
How meltwater spreads in the old millpond
Come April (though it takes a while)
From the inside out."

An almost incantory exaltation of minutely observed things, while the indentation echoes the turning motion of "inside out". Quietly stunning.