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A review by hali
War of the Foxes by Richard Siken
challenging
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
3.5
“Someone has to leave first. This is a very old story. There is no other version of this story.”
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
this is the first poetry collection i’ve read that feels like each word was hand picked by the author, carefully curated, and thoughtfully organized. still, it is poetry and i did not fully “get” it. although i have to ask myself what is there to “get”? IDK. indulge me in some quotes.
“The hunter's son watches the hunter. The hunter paints more rings on his glasses. Everything is a target, says the hunter. No matter where you look. The hunter's son says nothing, and closes his eyes.”
- The Stag and the Quiver
“Not everyone is dead, Little Moon. But the big moon needs the tree. There is a ghost at the end of the song. Yes, there is. And you see his hand and then you see the moon.
Am I the ghost at the end of the song? We are very close now, Little Moon. Thank you for shining on me.
He was pointing at the moon but I was looking at his hand. He was dead anyway, a ghost. I'm surprised I saw his hand at all. All this was prepared for me. All this was set in motion long ago. I live in someone else's future. I stayed as long as I could, he said. Now look at the moon.”
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
“Opaque in the sense of finally solid, in the sense of see me, not through me.”
- Portrait of Fryderyk in Shifting Light
“Can we love nature for what it really is: predatory? We do not walk through a passive landscape. The paint dries eventually. The bodies decompose eventually.”
- Landscape with Fruit Rot and Millipede
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
this is the first poetry collection i’ve read that feels like each word was hand picked by the author, carefully curated, and thoughtfully organized. still, it is poetry and i did not fully “get” it. although i have to ask myself what is there to “get”? IDK. indulge me in some quotes.
“The hunter's son watches the hunter. The hunter paints more rings on his glasses. Everything is a target, says the hunter. No matter where you look. The hunter's son says nothing, and closes his eyes.”
- The Stag and the Quiver
“Not everyone is dead, Little Moon. But the big moon needs the tree. There is a ghost at the end of the song. Yes, there is. And you see his hand and then you see the moon.
Am I the ghost at the end of the song? We are very close now, Little Moon. Thank you for shining on me.
He was pointing at the moon but I was looking at his hand. He was dead anyway, a ghost. I'm surprised I saw his hand at all. All this was prepared for me. All this was set in motion long ago. I live in someone else's future. I stayed as long as I could, he said. Now look at the moon.”
- The Worm King’s Lullaby
“Opaque in the sense of finally solid, in the sense of see me, not through me.”
- Portrait of Fryderyk in Shifting Light
“Can we love nature for what it really is: predatory? We do not walk through a passive landscape. The paint dries eventually. The bodies decompose eventually.”
- Landscape with Fruit Rot and Millipede