Take Us Quietly

Kim Fahner teaches English and history at Marymount Academy in Sudbury,
Ontario.

Whether the subject matter is blizzards, coffins, bingo halls, or
oranges being eaten with a lover in a foreign place, the sense of being
connected to others is a constant in this vibrant collection of poems.

There is stark beauty in Armstrong’s imagery, in how she manages to
link ideas together in innovative ways. In “Frog Prince,” a poem
about a search-and-rescue operation, the man who looks for drowned women
is like a “web-footed bridegroom” who “promises them a dignity /
that carries them over elopement thresholds” and “keeps their
secret.”

In “Where I Stand,” the poet writes with the aching voice of a
lover: “You are the bird soul / chapelled in my lover’s body; wrap
me in worn corduroy and work shirts. / I can take much more.” In
“River,” this sentiment is deepened: “Baby, I came back for this
recipe: / nights we make love without modesty, / my habit of reaching
for you while you drive, / my need to touch / you, the long way home, /
the snow and a Joni Mitchell song.”

In these strong and passionate poems, Armstrong perceives the
extraordinary in what most people see as the ordinary.