Confidence

Confidence by Robin Bradford is a gathering of 19 poems about living in difficult times. Drought, cancer and #BlackLivesMatter are here, as well as laughter, beauty and grit. Black-eyed Susans in the parking lot, lost keys and baby toys, teaching a son to drive in a cemetery, the speaker in these poems contemplates the urgent question: How can we remain awake to life's urgency, tenderness, and wonder? "Poetry gives us the chance to sit down, get quiet and listen. All of us are lIke Hanuman, the great Hindu monkey god whose punishment was to forget how great he was. Thankfully his worshippers chant his wonderful attributes to remind him how capable he is. We can all use a little confidence in these times."