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Finishing Line Press

Pub date October 18, 2024

Price $15.99 Paperback

Author interview

Bruce’s most recent work, a compilation of poetic prose, explores many topics ranging from the impermanence of life to the beauty of the outdoors, along with pain, sorrow, psychological and physical suffering, suicide, romance, and ardor. The narrator in the introductory title, “YEARS GONE,” speaks with a voice that is both gentle and intensely powerful: “Years gone, yet the memory lingers like mist above the mud-smell of the lakeshore, in any listless gray sky.” The depth and substance of “IN THE WIND” are enhanced by Bruce’s keen eye for detail.

“In the wind, a petal from the blossoming plum has settled on your lapel. I leave it be, liking how it places us here, in the garden.” “EACH MORNING FOR NINE DAYS” is a reflection on the grandeur of nature. In “A FEW DAYS AGO,” the protagonist ponders the permanency of all that’s transient. The title, “THERE’S ONLY SO MUCH I CAN DO,” is about the longing felt when a lover is away. In “ROSES ON THE STATE PARK OVERPASS,” a drive past a bridge where someone took her life floods the protagonist with memories of her own suicidal thoughts and dark days. Grief remains the book’s central emotion: “I saw the way grief entered your body—all at once and consuming—and stayed, eating you away. I prayed it wouldn’t bury you.” Amid the sadness, there is also a sense of awe at the beauty of nature, as well as fond recollections and longing. This unique and gorgeous collection boasts rich, evocative wording that transports the reader to unexpected places, accompanied by striking images all along the way. A stunner.

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