Prairie Smoke

Find love, loss, and all manner of plant and beast in Clara Bush Vadala's debut collection of poems, Prairie Smoke: Poems from the Grasslands. The poems in this book whisper of longing, of hope, and of a fragile world which still blooms with the beauty of perseverance. Follow Vadala as she searches for "home" in the tallgrass prairies of the north, in the language of landscape the native tongue of Texas, and the wildness of North America's own megafauna, the moose. Even as these poems explore the ethereal quality of animals, from toads to moose, roadside skunk to elusive black bear, the human presence is ever felt and closely examined. "Longing" invites the reader to feel the need for companionship even in the tranquility of nature, "Three Things" imparts the necessity of keeping to ourselves, even as we long to explore the world around us. Open Prairie Smoke: Poems from the Grasslands to discover the natural history of the prairie, as told by the creatures within.