Full Description
It is our everyday explorations—the small explosions within life, family, and "ordinary" survival—that make up Gregory Fraser's fourth collection of poetry, Little Armageddon. Fraser writes at eye level, detailing the experiences of fatherhood, love, and the quiet of daily life, poised at the brink of abrupt upheaval.
These poems are an exercise in precision and reflection. Free verse, prose, and precise sonnets blend with pastorals that show readers the life within the landscape. In "My Daughter and the Lizard," the speaker reflects on grace, meditating on the reptile his child is inspecting: "I scissor-jab three holes through the lid / of a Mason jar and tell her to be gentle, / 'It's a living thing,' I say, 'not a toy.'"
We are how we live. These poems balance imagination and truth telling with rich verse that brings the reader's ear closer to the quiet—and how intense it truly is.
Contents
Part I
Business
My Idea of Heaven
Little Armageddon
Nothing but a Few Bare Trees
Lucky Gnarl
The End of Summer
Like Angels
After of Fire
The Boss
Cuckold
Zeno and His Mistress
A Gathering
Part II
Hide and Seek
The Good News
The Hollow
Very Tall Mushrooms
My Daughter and the Lizard
Eclipse
The Son Hat
Dark Harbor
The Dwarf of Ella Street
Translation the First
Swaddle the First
Confession the First
Invitation the First
Miscarriage the First
Fatherland
The Late Father
Charon in the Pediatric Ward
I Love My Wife but the Problem Is
Part III
Still Life with Lemons
Aftermaths
Two Mothers
The Potato and the Marigold
One Sunday Dusk
The Pot
How the Poor Fly
