"A keen and poetic observer of the natural world, Jeannie Roberts reminds us of our rootedness to the land and the creatures who inhabit it. Every word asks us to pause, to celebrate, to look closer for the wonder half-hidden before our eyes. You’ll leave these poems feeling warmer, better, and a little more human, too.”
—B.J. Hollars, Author of Flock Together: A Love Affair with Extinct Birds
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"These poems lead you gently away from the world most of us inhabit: technology, drab offices and the tyranny of our phones and wristwatches--- an ersatz existence compared to the magnificence teeming around us if only we would pay attention. Roberts’ poems invite us into the vividness of the natural world and show us our place in it, by parting the stiff gray curtain of our harried lives to show us a glimpse of what could be. In fact, this connection with the natural world that she so lovingly and adeptly shows us through her poems makes us want to tear down whatever it is that prevents us from truly seeing the beauty around us. She is a poet with a wide and gaping eye, steeped in the lushness of everyday life, reflecting her deep communion with nature. The joy in these poems is evident. She is a true lyricist of the natural world."
―Michelle Reale, Author of Confini: Poems of Refugees in Sicily (Cervena Barva, 2018) and Behold, My Laminate Life (Big Table Books, 2018)
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"The Wingspan of Things is a luminous journey through landscape and memory, and Roberts' elegant craft and subtle sense of rhythm are constant companions throughout the collection. Few poets can transport readers, from the tactile to the spiritual, the way she can."
–Jason Splichal, Founder of Sky Island Journal.
Jeannie E. Roberts lives in an inspiring setting near Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, where she writes, draws and paints, and often photographs her natural surroundings. She has authored three poetry collections including the most recent Romp and Ceremony (Finishing Line Press, 2017). She is also the author and illustrator of Let's Make Faces!, a children's book dedicated to her son.
An Earnest Fable
Love is like a dew that falls on both nettles and lilies. ~Swedish Proverb
Covered in pine boughs and dew,
she awoke to drumming sounds.
Wings were the start of this day,
and hers began to unfold. As sun
slipped between cedars, it warmed
the forest floor. Fern unfurled
and bloodroot revealed its golden
center. Shaking her wings, she
blanketed the woodlands―Mist de
Amor, she called it. Gathering her
gusto, she set out to soften all the
thorns, nettles, and troublesome
things, scattering more dew as she
flew.
