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Originally published in 2005, Sanity Among the Wildflowers has the distinction of being
reincarnated—finding a second life in a new edition published by Cholla Needles
Arts & Literary Library. Over the past 14 years, Tobi Alfier has become a widely known poet with
endless journal publications and books to her credit—but, this step back in
time allows us to enjoy her very first chapbook, self-published and long out of
print.
These poems are straightforward and straight shooting, full
of the empathy and attention to detail that are hallmarks of Tobi’s later work
as well. In some of these poems, we get to know a mother who may be like the
poet herself.
“Untitled #1 (Signals)” begins:
She hangs three dresses
and four small pairs of pants on the line—
the signal that she is a young woman
with a small son alone.
The dresses are old,
the cue that she has no money,
faded flowers optimistic
even as they absorb into
the pungent sunlight.
We follow this young woman and her optimism—“the
opportunities are endless in the morning”—traveling with her as she crosses
paths with a handsome man in the supermarket, a stranger on a plane, watching as
she redefines herself when her husband leaves his wedding ring on the counter—
She tries on eyeshadow,
and high heels,
Wonders how it would feel to be free,
unencumbered
and emancipated.
She takes a drink,
tends her garden,
contemplates the 5:00 pm flight to Paris…
Tobi contemplates the lives of others as well—a family of
skunks living under the house, a man whose lover’s teeth “are gray from lies,” a
gnarled old woman in an airport—
What can I do for you? What
can I ever do for you? I
do not look away, and then
I smile. A friendly smile, not
out of pity for you, but out
of pity for myself, because I
could be you in another
twenty years, and that’s a hard
lesson for me to know.
My personal favorite in this collection is “Red Plaid,” an
ode to an old shirt given to her when she was sick by a special friend—
…You gently draped
it around and buttoned me up like I was a child…
it brought comfort and something more.
I never washed that shirt. I never gave it back.
I carefully made sure to never sweat, never spill—
I could smell your cologne for years after you left…
I didn’t even know
my soul was needy but you knew.
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As a bonus, Tobi ends the book with an essay that reveals
how it came about: she attended a beginning poetry class taught by the
legendary Jack Grapes, who required each student to create a chapbook. She also
includes a number of tips for anyone wanting to publish his/her own chapbook.
Coming from someone who’s been writing “since dinosaurs walked the earth,” Tobi’s
words are worth reading, and heeding.
Tobi Alfier is a multiple Pushcart nominated poet and Best
of the Net nominated poet whose poems have appeared in The Chaffin Journal, Chiron Review, Cholla Needles, Coe Review,
Gargoyle, Hawai’i Pacific Review, Nerve Cowboy, Permafrost, The Los Angeles
Review, Spoon River Poetry Review, Suisun Valley Review, Town Creek Poetry,
and other print and online journals. Her poetry books include Carpeting the Stones, Romance and Rust, Down
Anstruther Way, Slice of Alice, and Somewhere,
Anywhere, Doesn’t Matter Where.
Find out more about the reviewer, Cynthia Anderson, at www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com
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My favorite as well.
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