I feel as though I’ve ventured through the city, exploring each corner, looking through shop windows, experiencing Toledo as one of its citizens.
Ghostly Embers: Visions of Toledo
By Larry Rochelle, EPPIE WINNER 2006
BookSurge (2005) Amazon $13.99
ISBN 1419604554
Reviewed by Debra Gaynor for Reader Views (1/07)
I’ve never been to Toledo but through the poetry of Larry Rochelle in “Ghostly Embers: Visions of Toledo” I feel as though I’ve ventured through the city, exploring each corner, looking through shop windows, experiencing Toledo as one of its citizens.
Rochelle weaves a tapestry of words to show the Toledo of his memories. The tapestry shows the ice storm, youth playing “Gutter Tag” on the pages. In “Point Place Ice Storm” I could feel the cold and see the dazzle of the ice. “Gutter Tag” speaks of children playing the game. He tells of riding the train. On and on he shares the sights, sounds and odors of Toledo. The poems of this book touch your senses.
I believe my favorite of all the poems was “The Cat That Cried Dead Kittens.” I know that’s an odd choice but I could see and feel the pain the cat felt, the great pain of losing her children. The boy was filled with curiosity, and followed the track of her footprints through the snow.
“so sure was I that I rolled the big rocks
away pushing them deeper into the snow so
I might see. I waited
this night for the moans, the agony of the wild
beast patrolling the back yard each full moon,
a cat like no other mother, not concealing the depth
of sadness, the voice howling with pain,
carrying her dead kittens
though the yard and past the creek,
each step locked in icy snow, no problem to track
the morbid cargo down through thick thistles,
their summer brightness grayed by winds near zero,
the beast raking its belly
in painful petulance, with all her mother’s zeal
confounded by hunger, tears and babies
who would not wake even as she kissed their fur and loved their little toes.”
Larry Rochelle is an accomplished author. He has successfully shared his memories of Toledo with his readers. He takes paper and uses words to paint his pictures. I recommend “Ghostly Embers: Visions of Toledo” to those who enjoy poetry.
Children will enjoy reading and hearing about the silly antics of a puppy still learning how to be a good listener. This story is about Riley, a cute, little, rescue puppy who gets into all sorts of predicaments.
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