Chasing Echoes

Chasing Echoes passionately brings the past to the present through nature.Walt Barger sees himself in the ocean that ". . . continues to roll wavesto an empty beach," in the dawn that ". . . neatly fold[s] the blanketof stars. . . in the West..." His words gracefully balance the self in nature ". . . like the spindle of a fine time piece." Barger's poetry evokes the simplicity of a past both rural and Southern. Whether he is describing overalls or a weather worn piano, objects take on presence. The language is vivid with a sense of history that is personal and connected. Poems like "Bib with Buttoned Fly" vividly speak of his memories, at eight years old, of owning a new pair of overalls in crisp, sharp lines. The poem "I Wish you Bluebirds" is a poem with surprising freshness in the lines "when ... thoughts are stumbling over stones of clay, I wish you bluebirds tosing, and pave the way.""Walt Barger has a great sense of place. Walking through his poetry, you see family, friends, and neighbors. His use of description takes us home."Margaret Britton VaughnPoet Laureate of TennesseeBarger, Walt is the author of 'Chasing Echoes' with ISBN 9780595658718 and ISBN 0595658717.