Spring Again and Other Poems

Edward L. Edmonds is a professor of education at the University of
Prince Edward Island and Honorary Chief of the Mi'kmaq of Prince Edward
Island.

“The way we were” is a popular theme today in literature, music, and
film. The technique is the familiar flashback, which seeks to recapture
“the visionary gleam.” This is the texture of Robert Nero’s poems.
In the comfort of retirement he can still recall an earlier age of gold.


Two qualities in Nero’s poetry are worthy of special commendation.
One is his very patent love of his wife; some of his poems are just
that—love lyrics. The other is that close observation of nature that
comes easily to him from his own daily avocation, yet still prompts
reminiscence and reflection. The titling of the poems evocatively traces
his own liturgy of the seasons.

Nero’s style does not vary much: short lines to encapsulate a thought
or an image; simple vocabulary, though more than the language of
everyday speech. There is an intimacy in his poems that he is happy to
share with a larger public.

The cover design admirably reflects the poet’s own lyricism. Being
the naturalist he is, however, he might well have suggested color be
used for the male red-winged blackbird.

Overall, this book is another collector’s piece that will delight
Nero’s many readers.