The Inflowing River

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of English at the University of Prince
Edward Island.

Michael Bullock’s 18th volume of poetry takes the form of a series of
abbreviated meditations. Bullock’s poems explore the thoughts and
feelings that nature arouses in him. He is acutely aware of the passage
of time, and this manifests itself in an intense elegiac quality, as in
“Among Trees” and “Spring Flowers.” Bullock’s impressive
scholarship is evident in his foreword, where he pays eloquent tribute
to “Water,” that fourth element on which all life depends for its
continuance; it manifests itself more subtly and evocatively in such
poems as “Autumn Pool.” Bullock creates metaphors that appeal to all
the senses (“Apple breasted morning”; “morning walks towards me /
with bluebells on its breath”; “Bird song sparkles / a cascade of
diamonds”). Ladislav Guderna’s attractive cover design aptly
encapsulates both theme and author.