"All These Little Remonstrations" takes the reader on a meditative journey through nature, family, love and loss. From sea shores and the treasures that lay within them to the loss of loved ones and the integrity of the earth's ecosystems, the reader is reminded again and again of the cycles of nature, and the resiliency of love and the heart.
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Poet Aurore Sibley is capable of bringing the lamb out of the fire, of casting shadows out of ghosts, of constructing a miracle, and she does so beautifully in her collection All These Little Remonstrations. These poetic protests, in their most delicate artistry, are the words of a prophet inviting us to join her in a forgotten optimism. Sibley's keen imagery of things unfelt guides our imaginations through grief with an artistry of language. And it's her artistry that makes the reader unable to resist resting on the sand of her voice, not unlike the mysterious pygmy whale in her "Stranger from Another World." A much-needed call for beauty, this collection sings with refulgence!
-Candice Balish Kelsey
Nature plays a large role in Sibley's collection, however not in a way normally expected in poetry. Walks on the beach, fires in California, and butterflies bring back memories of family and love lost and longed-for. Sibley draws from her childhood and relationships, acknowledging the difficulties while retaining the good things that have shaped who she is today. Her own longing for connection appears in several poems, especially in "The Orionids", which begins with these exquisitely-written opening lines: "I would like to know what it's like, to fall into your arms, / I imagine it would feel like a blanket of grass, like the sun / warming skin, like moonlight kissing eyelids," I recommend this collection for its variety, imagery and powerful writing.
-Arthur Turfa, poet, Saluda Reflections, Finishing Line Press
