Two Poems: Changes
Along with the seasons, the times are changing. May we all find shelter from the coming storms.
Poem Written to Hard Day's Night
Wind combs shreds of mist through Trees and jagged crags atop the ridge. Sun breaks briefly to bridge The darkness of leaves Ripped from limbs. Stark trunks bend and twist Their tufted outstretched arms Beat the air at alarming angles. Twigs and needles tangle In the savagery of mountain gales. It groans and swears to tear the moans Of long winter days from our throats. Against its rage we remain warm and safe Protected from its boast. The shelter of our house Hides us from the madness Of changing seasons. Though it seems mad, weather rotates According to plan, all in due time. We retreat awhile and grow Inside these rooms like restless Seedlings, we wait to bloom, When Spring will shine upon us again.
First Snow
Snow rests on mullein catmint and sage Seasons collide in this chaotic age Leaves sag on limbs refusing to fall Storms on mountaintops reluctant to stall Battles rage on as each season turns Winds of winter blow as summer still burns Spring disappears between blossom and ice It hardly develops more than a slice Of soft warming days for tulips to rise Before the heat scorches all under bleached skies Snowbound chrysanthemums barely in bloom Grew too slowly all summer to now meet their doom.
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All my books, Paradise Ridge, When the Horses Come and Go, and Ghost in the Forest are currently available on Kindle.
Ghost in the Forest, is also available in paperback for ten bucks. Paradise Ridge is out-of-print, but the Kindle version is re-edited and better quality. Hard copies of When the Horses Come and Go are gone unless that dusty box in the corner still has some.
Book Review of Ghost in the Forest:
"Ghost in The Forest" is a great read! Take note People. If you love stories about environmentalism and nature, its clash with urban mindsets, as well as personal transformation, this is the book for you!
"Ghost in The Forest" is a quick 126-page read. It's the story of Dori, a woman trapped in a mix of grief over parental loss and refusing to accept how her hometown and her friends have changed over the years. Because of this, Dori has become a recluse and a self-imposed misanthrope who finds more comfort amongst the hiking trails around her hometown of Morristown than in her dealings with the raw reality of other humans.
The book, in some ways, resembled Edward Abbey’s “Desert Solitaire” in that the story follows a protagonist's love of nature and angst about humans encroaching on it. In this case, it’s how Morristown is transforming into a mountain biking destination where cyclists run rampant on trails and nature.
However, a tragedy involving said mountain biking becomes a major pivot point for Dori, leading to a series of events that eventually bring about personal evolution and discovery.
If you're a nature lover, this book is a must-read. It beautifully portrays the clash between environmentalism and urban mindsets and the journey of personal transformation. The book's vivid descriptions of nature and the protagonist's love for it will surely intrigue you.
Paradise Ridge Review by western author D. B. Jackson:
If you draw circle roughly around an area that includes northern Nevada, southern Oregon, and southern Idaho, within that circle exists a culture and people who live a lifestyle largely untouched by modern values. These are the "buckaroos" and Basque characters author Sue Cauhape brings to life in her literary novel, "Paradise Ridge".
Leandro, the illegitimate seventh son of patriarch Xavier Arriaga and his mistress, Gisela, is at the center of this intriguing story that travels exceedingly successfully at both the personal level of the characters, as well as the compelling level where the story is told.
Cauhape writes in a literary style that reminds me of Annie Poulx. Paradise Ridge, on the surface, appears to be an upscale Western novel...once inside the pages, you will soon discover a potential classic waiting to be discovered.
I rated this book a 5...because that's all the stars there were.
"...It hardly develops more than a slice of soft warming days for tulips to rise before the heat scorches all under bleached skies..." AND "...The shelter of our house hides us from the madness of changing seasons..." AND all those gorgeous photos! You are such a talented woman, Sue. I realized this morning how much the geography of where you live has shaped your poetry, and began to wonder how living by this little bay my entire life may have done the same.