Earth Dreams

Patrick Van Mil was a freelance writer in Banff, Alberta.

Reality is a matter of perception. By philosophical meandering one can refute the existence of anything. According to Plato all we experience in the present is nothing but a shadow of what really exists. Reality is, then, a dream. From this stance both the past and future, made into vivid dreams by the mind’s eye, become as real and tangible as the present we experience.

This is Jerry Rush’s vision. His only demand is this: If everything is a dream, so be it, but then let all dreams be as consequential as that dream we call reality. Accept reality for what it is but also let other dreams be. From this is derived the title of this volume of poetry, Earth Dreams: dreams brought down to earth and made real, whether their source is memories, the present, or hopes for the future.

The poems themselves are divided into these three sections: memories of childhood on the Saskatchewan plains; experiences of adulthood; hopes for a better future symbolized by the transfigured sky-diver. Within these sections is a varied selection of poetry. There are caricatures of country folk such as Mrs. Tomlin, the woman who is driven crazy by the restrictions of small town life, and the old Indian medicine man whose potions can miraculously cure gall stones. Some of the poems are very imagistic and emotionally powerful. “Colours in the Earth,” “The Deep Well,” and “The Moon” are memorable, as is the very lyrical “Bee Woman.”

Rush writes with a style as simple and subtle as the landscape he grew up in and now inhabits. Some poems, such as “Old Artist,” have a certain “gee whiz” attitude but on the whole some very steady writing is offered.

These poems do not give profound philosophical insights but, as Rush writes in “Abruptly,” “they will preserve the mystery.”