Poetry: “On Wings of Gentle Power,” by Barry D. Yelton

Barry Yelton , a native North Carolinian writer, has done it again in his latest poetry book “On Wings of Gentle Power.”

Reflective of Yelton’s rural roots these poems impart a sense of place and connection to land, sky, and water. Al Past’s photography combines with Yelton’s words to create a layered duet. Yelton and Past deliver a love letter to nature. Here’s an example from the first stanza of “In the Valley,” found by opening the book at random:

Across the river, just beyond the stand of birches
I walk with daylight fading, mosquitoes humming in my ear.
The light filters softly through the still branches
and falls like a breath on the papery bark.

Impermanence and aging themes weave a tone of joy and sorrow at life’s fragility. From “At Night on Winterstar”:

And the wind and the rain and the mountain
continue
until that momentous day
when the rocks melt
and time ceases
and the wind learns
what it means
to be mortal.
and the rain
laughs no more.

Filled with tenderness “On Wings of Gentle Power” provides a glimpse of what is mostly unseen in our every lives.

Four parts.
61 poems
51 photos