Narrow Droplets
by
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From MIND:
Narrow Droplets
These writings
Are only slivers of who I
am.
That’s what narrow droplets
means.
Don’t get the bright idea
That you know me now.
Think
I think like the water
Directionless, faltering across the sea.
I believe like the wind
Swinging, fluctuating, vacant or vigorous.
A ship dispatched across the desert
Going nowhere, seeking nothing.
Something like the snake, coiled and semi-buried
Ready to emerge but no prey in sight.
I might feel like the mournful
Draped across the grave, from
Crucifix to casket. The basket of
Lilies, the bells of the cathedral,
A wedding for the anticipative
Bride as she cold-shoulders the passing corpse.
From death to life, I think it’s the same thing.
A ring, a box. A marriage-bed, a tomb. We are all
Doomed to the same fate nevertheless.
From the sun’s rays across your groom’s face
To the place where the widow grieves.
I think like the water, scattered and aimless,
No better than the patient snake in the desert,
We’ve all been starved, deceived
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About the Book
Narrow Droplets is a riveting collection of 240 poems on four themes: mind, body, heart, soul. Edgy and sophisticated, works from this Detroit-based poet make you reflect, react, and respond. From conveying the heartache of betrayal to questioning the role of a higher power, Narrow Droplets transports the reader to recalling the personal, often-tumultuous experiences of our teenage years, twenties, and thirties. Written over a twenty-two year period, the poetry of Narrow Droplets shares the journey from love to loss, commitment to infidelity, indecision to education, and pleasure to pain. The reader is confronted with challenging subjects on modern-American society’s obsession with physical beauty, the mentality of excess, and the throwaway culture of the 21st Century. Direct, poignant, and witty, Narrow Droplets will be memorable to poetry-lovers from all backgrounds. Calling upon a variety of forms and styles, this collection is valuable to both students of the genre and general readers with an appreciation of language and literary passion.
“Poetry is only meaningful when it is close to nature and approaches the truth of feeling. The poetry of Cassandra Swiderski has truly done this while maintaining the flexibility, openness, and constant readiness to listen. She raises the reader’s curiosity, engages him in the event and then surprises him with an unexpected catastrophe. The true purpose of any poet is to give the world a new shape and stop it from going to sleep, and I think Narrow Droplets is the apt reflection of that.”
—Usman Khan, author
“The Narrow Droplets of Cassandra Swiderski’s poems stream together to form a hauntingly beautiful and poignantly honest river of voices in this intensely personal yet universal collection of verse.”
—Steven Gulvezan, author of The Dogs of Paris
About the Author
Cassandra Swiderski is currently employed as a full-time college faculty member in suburban Detroit. She holds Master’s and Doctorate degrees in academic library science and systematic theology, respectively, and has been the recipient of several scholarly and private writing awards for journalism, songwriting, playwriting, and poetry. Her historical fiction novel, Passengers, was published in 2011. Narrow Droplets is her first collection of published poetry.