Vibrantly imaginative and starkly honest, Closer takes the reader into realms that most of us are hesitant to traverse. Al shows us it is worth taking the journey into spiritual doubt, to face images of death and to bear the loss of our own bearings. His poetry carries us deeply into places where we can touch love along with her inescapable companions- grief, gratitude, suffering and redemption. With his gifted capacity to bring meaning into paradox, Al gives us poetry that moves into darkness lightly and opens the way into the mysteries of the myriad losses and renewals we experience in this life. Amplified by the beautiful illustrations of John Francis, this poetry rises like a thin wind over an oceans ever shifting tides.
