Song of a Transient and Other Poems

These poems strike a rare balance between wide-ranging erudition and light-hearted wit. Finding inspiration in everything from travels, to American heroes, to the metaphysics of compost--and much more--Benjamin Farley shows readers again and again how a poem can "plummet deep inside /And command what is quiescent." We startle with recognition at the observations, emotions, and glimpses of nature shared in these pages, which document a life singularly attuned to the beauty of the world around us and to its underlying harmony. We are all fortunate that Farley's universe " sings] to him in rhyme and verse." Alexander Ogden, Associate Professor of Russian and Comparative Literature, University of South Carolina. Bearing echoes of the Romantic era, these poems by Benjamin Farley offer up a reflective pool of tranquility amidst the chaos of the twenty-first century. Read them aloud to savor their musicality, or take them for a hike in the woods, where many of them had their beginnings. In this volume, characters from the Bible mingle with gods and goddesses from Classical mythology, and even the Dalai Lama. These poems manage to be both human and humane as they reflect the poet's own life experience. Alexa Selph, Poet and Poetry Instructor, Emory Continuing Education