Bourbon and Branch Water (Paperback or Softback)

These poems are brave and courageous. They capture and immortalize that which others would rather be forgotten. Unsaid. Unspoken. They rekindle a flame long ago burnt down softly. Memories. Home. Community. People who inhabited the spaces in between. But here is a poet who knows how to skin a poem. “A tug/ and the pelt tears loose./ Almost no blood.”

—Levi Romero, Inaugural New Mexico State Poet Laureate

In the musically rich language of a natural story-teller, Cedar Koons delivers a well-wrought romp through family lore: a view into the tale-teller’s internal world, her growing spiritual awareness from childhood coupled with an enthusiasm for the embodied life. We learn of her developing race and class consciousness in her teenage years; her sexual explorations under the eyes of Catholic school nuns; a pre-Roe abortion described with wit and blunt candor; and the speaker’s sister’s suicide, mourned in a sestina that hits its mark. Bourbon and Branch Water is a poetic memoir with wheels, a savory and moving ride through an alert life.

—Sawnie Morris, Author of Her, Infinite (2016 New Issues Press)

Cedar Koons’ voice carries us ever forward with its authority and clear-eyed look of what is. The language is sensual, bearing witness to the griefs and celebrations of self, family, community, and the larger world. Whether in form or free verse, these poems document a life richly lived in the moment, its bounty derived from hard-earned truths and touches of serendipity.

—Debra Kaufman, Author of God Shattered (2019 Jacar Press)

In Bourbon and Branch Water, Cedar Koons takes us on a poetic journey like no other. We witness a life fully lived, versified, and captured in a voice that rings true and revelatory. Fierce spirit is in evidence page after page. These poems fearlessly plumb the depths of what it means to be human, to be shaped and changed by what we go through. With wisdom, humor, and grace, Cedar Koons invites us to join her on this exploration. Come on along and see the world anew.

—Toni Mirosevich, Author of Spell Heaven (2022 Counterpoint Press 2022)