What's Left
In her newest poetry collection, What’s Left, Susan Read Cronin pulls back the curtain to reveal the shadow side of things that may have seemed humorous at first. Images from fairy tales and family life merge to bring a mélange of memories to life in this fine assortment of poems. Known for her reductive style, she uses remarkable concision to make the most out of the fewest words, as in her poem:
Nothing to Hold
When an astronaut cries in space
his tears float off his face.
Will my tears float away
the same way, too, when
you are gone—there being nothing
left to hold them here?
Cronin uses humor with her own unique slant. Sometimes she deftly includes the absurd as a vehicle to deal with not only the joys of life, but the pain as well. Childhood, love, marriage, friendships, fire, death, no topic is too sacred to be spared her astute observations. To find the answer to the question, what’s left? Cronin encourages the reader to read the last line of the last poem.
Nothing to Hold
When an astronaut cries in space
his tears float off his face.
Will my tears float away
the same way, too, when
you are gone—there being nothing
left to hold them here?
Cronin uses humor with her own unique slant. Sometimes she deftly includes the absurd as a vehicle to deal with not only the joys of life, but the pain as well. Childhood, love, marriage, friendships, fire, death, no topic is too sacred to be spared her astute observations. To find the answer to the question, what’s left? Cronin encourages the reader to read the last line of the last poem.