Witness

Julie Rekai Rickerd is a Toronto broadcaster and public relations
consultant.

Western poet Linda Rogers’ work seeks some form of explanation to the mysteries of the universe. Her latest collection of poems, Witness, is an impressive pot-pourri of tightly controlled and vastly descriptive language.

Rogers’ poems are deceptively simple. Her imagery is a satisfying blend of the commonplace and the inexplicable. Nature is both friend and foe. Many creatures inhabit Rogers’ world and often appear to hold the key to unanswered questions. She tackles the themes of love and war with equal energy. There is a calm, thoughtful sense of irony juxtaposed with a relentless curiosity in her work. An acute awareness of minute detail fuels her quest for answers.

Rogers’ rhythm and cadence accompany her steady search for unity and harmony. The seasons, animals, insects, flowers are personified and given an important role as vital parts of the puzzle that is the universe. Yet there is no urgency or demand for gratification or explanation. Rogers’ poems meander rather than race for the finish line. She leaves herself limitless room to expand in her exploration of the world and beyond. Her poems pursue life’s answers to mysterious questions as benign witnesses. There is no evidence of hostility, merely curiosity. The poet is perceptive in her role as expert witness to her surroundings and patiently continues to watch and wait for explanations to her queries, an altogether pleasant occupation for both author and reader.