Fire is the fulcrum on which the losses in
Candescent
are bound and purified. Linda Parsons's fifth collection gathers the tinder of fallen idols and smudges her changed life with burning sage--the loss of a marriage, the long decline of a father into dementia, the passing of a beloved dog. Candescence smolders within, flown like ashes of the past. In this journey from grief to humility and discovery, she at last finds her dragon voice, bows to the impermanence that infuses our earthly time. We can carry grief on our backs or in our bodies, or we can allow it to illuminate and deepen our path forward. What lifts this collection into new territory is Parsons's conscious path to healing and acceptance through Buddhist meditation. Using the images of meditation is a way for her writing to act as a healing practice not only for herself, but for all who hear and read the poems, a laying on of hands and words, light begetting light.