Foot Through the Ceiling: Poems and Haiku

Donalee Moulton-Barrett was a writer and editor in Halifax.

Chris Faiers’ 77-page collection of poems and haiku, Foot Through the Ceiling, isa wide-ranging look at emotion and philosophy, and ultimately the control they have over us. In his far-flung travel through form, structure and style, Faiers is both right on the mark, and way off the mark.

“UIC MAIL,” for example, is a succinct look at what outside control does to the human inside: “day’s dragging on/ sleeping in late/ saves 1 meal a day/ mail slithering thru the slot/ like the cat I jump/ when it hits the floor.” There is an honesty, and a reality, that give this poem impact. But Faiers loses this poetic impact when he opts for cleverness instead of sincerity.

In “FURTHER ADVICE TO YOUNG POETS,” Faiers consels: “Sell your soul in the street/ but not in the marketplace/ In memory of Shelley/ dissect an academic/ or/ decide you’re a failed poet at 20/ and become a professor.” This is amusing, even irreverent, but it is also easy and unfortunately, easily forgotten. So are these facile lines from “MANGO”: “If there was a wine/ fermented from your sweet juice/ I would burp with bliss all night.” Of course, indigestion is funny only after it’s passed, like pain.

The genuine emotion and pain in Foot Through the Ceiling, is half-hidden by repartee.