sa国际传媒官网网页入口

If you need to rest up after a brisk morning walk, may I suggest cooling off with Betsy James鈥� just-released book 鈥淚nfinite and Dangerous and Bright: Poems.鈥�

James, a longtime New Mexico resident, covers many subjects with fresh ideas that promote delight, thoughtfulness and humor.

The subjects may be humans, animals, the weather or the seasons.

Sometimes they may cohere in a single poem.

Part of the pleasure of reading James鈥� poems has to do with their length.

For the most part they鈥檙e condensed; many are half a page; some are shorter.

Members of the animal kingdom seem to dominate in the section 鈥淎ll Together We Praise.鈥�

Here鈥檚 one 鈥� 鈥淛une Bug鈥� 鈥� that鈥檚 all of three lines:

鈥淏orn ugly.

A hiss

Is my only defense.鈥�

Here鈥檚 another shortie in the same section, 鈥淲inter Morning.鈥� This one is 10 lines:

鈥淥ut there

The snow tears sideways.

Dark-eyed juncos

quarrel, the wind blows

down their collars

up their pantaloons.

in here

the steam

rises almost straight

from the warm cup.鈥�

鈥淗ens鈥� is the title of this short poem in celebration of barnyard egg-layers:

鈥淢ost vulnerable of birds,

Prey to owl and skunk and weasel,

coyote and the family dog,

we call them stupid.

Certainly they are not

intellectual. In their tiny wisdom

they peck and chat in the tall grass,

living perfectly their hen鈥檚 life.鈥�

Perhaps the section containing the most personal poems is 鈥淲hat Home Feels Like.鈥�  And one poem in the section that is open and reflective is 鈥淲hy I Hike in Mesa Country.鈥�

Here are the first few lines that provide answers to the statement posed in the title:

鈥淏ecause it is big enough.

Because when the hawk

opens its wings here,

She can rise.

Because sand is clean 鈥︹��

The concluding section 鈥� 鈥淚t Is Still Round,鈥� 鈥� is oh so playful and endearing, and expands the definition of poetry. It is an invitation to read out loud and maybe sing songs, chants, lullabies, handslaps, games, riddles and baby dandling lyrics that James created. Dandling is moving a small child up and down on the knees or in the arms.

Here is the first stanza of James鈥� lyrics of 鈥淏aby Dandling鈥�:

鈥淚 love the sun, I love you.

I love the moon, I love you.

I love the dew on the green thorn.

At the moment you were born,

Sun and moon and thorn were born 鈥�

Born to laugh and born to mourn.

O love, o grief! I love you.鈥�

James, who is also a visual artist, created the art on the book鈥檚 front cover: It is the painting 鈥淢alpais Two-track.鈥�

Near the bottom edge of each page of poems, including the title page, is a long horizontal black line. Think of it as a horizon line, James said, adding, 鈥淚 do horizons all the time in my sketchbook.鈥�

On many pages the line is accompanied by very small images of people or animals or vehicles or landscapes related to the subject on the facing pages.

The book鈥檚 title comes from a line in James鈥� poem 鈥淏aby Sparrows.鈥�

James is also a novelist and memoirist.