consumer-
society. Holder doesn't buy into the pre-packaged-
cherry tomatoes, "with leafy laminated balls
of Romaine." The poems come from the city of,
Somerville, Mass., which still has pockets
of working class folks, vaudeville expressions,
and the student's bawdy release on weekends.
Holder, a master craftsman, observes the mundane
with poetic intelligence:

"…The close habitation of sunlight and brooding shadow,
The incestuous tangle of backyards
The sudden eruption of a hill…"

Every poem in this collection widens our experience
because of his ability to contain what is an apparent
situation or the reality therein of any given situation. And
the humor he interjects in some of the poems becomes a place
for the reader to finally relax and laugh. These poems show us,
the reader, who we are, where we live, who we have become.
We reacquaint ourselves with the everyday people we pass by;
people and places, as an actuality, not just the someone who
is part of the crowd. Holder has the ability to pick out a scene,
and then depict the actions related to those people, who, within
the context of their private settings, urban reality, concrete walks,
brick and wooden structures that may induce a reluctance on our part
to notice anything or some of the happenings related to the everyday
people. Holder sees people, places, and things, in a non-judgmental
way, he gives us a glimpse, an opportunity to meet one another:

"He turned his face toward me-
A smiling mouth
That had turned cruel
Still with the fleshy
Flushed cheeks
of a choirboy."

I recommend this chapbook to everyone and anyone who
wants to read good writing. Don't pass this book buy.

Irene Koronas
Poetry Editor
Wilderness House Literary Review