Untitled and unpunctuated, the seventy poems in this acclaimed collection seem to cascade from one page to another. Maurice Manning extolls the virtues of nature and its many gifts, and finds deep gratitude for the mysterious hand that created it all.
that bare branch that branch made black
by the rain the silver raindrop
hanging from the black branch
Boss I like that black branch
I like that shiny raindrop Boss
tell me if I’m wrong but it makes
me think you’re looking right
at me now isn’t that a lark for me
to think you look that way
upside down like a tree frog
Boss I’m not surprised at all
I wouldn’t doubt it for
a minute you’re always up
to something I’ll say one thing
you’re all right all right you are
even when you’re hanging Boss
What happens when a poet speaks to God as a farmhand speaks to his boss?
- Contemplative Poetry: Manning’s seventy unpunctuated poems cascade from one page to the next, wrestling with faith, gratitude, and the mystery of creation.
- A Unique Conversational Tone: Each poem is a direct address to "Boss," a powerful and enigmatic creator figure, blending reverence with a folksy, rustic familiarity.
- Rich Nature Poetry: Discover the profound in the everyday—a raindrop on a black branch, the shadow of a hawk, a buzzard’s hop—as the collection finds the divine in the details of rural life.
- Lyrical Free Verse: Without the confines of title or punctuation, the language flows with a raw, musical rhythm that is both deeply personal and universally resonant.