Disappearing Angels

Fill your favorite cup with coffee or tea and pull up a comfortable chair. Reading this intimate collection of poems, Disappearing Angels by Carol Rucks, is like sitting with a close friend, one whose compassion, curiosity, and watchful eye nourish the spirit. Rucks takes her readers with her around the Twin Cities as she experiences wonder and difficulty in equal parts. Along the way, we encounter angels and albino squirrels, see happiness falling from the sky, and hear trees making music. Never frivolous, Rucks tackles important human themes like friendship, love, and cruelty, while weaving whimsy and humor into the fabric of her poems.

—Mary Junge, author, Creatures of Promise and Pilgrim Eye

Carol Rucks uses mixed measures of observation, reflection, and magic to examine what we all encounter in life: connections, small and large betrayals, loss and grief, and love —both real and fantasy. Her insights are interspersed with moments of pleasure and sly humor. Carol carefully distills her language, seeking to capture the essence she wants to share with us. This fourth collection of her poetry reflects the tensions and uncertainties of our current world. Yet, Carol continues to draw magic from interactions with the urban natural world, and much to this reader’s delight, she channels that magic into her poetry.

—Cynthia Fuller, poet, psychologist, advisor, and disabilities professional

In her fourth book of poems, Disappearing Angels, Carol Rucks surprises, delights, and makes us laugh. Each short poem she presents is a gem with many facets, as she explores the themes of marriage, friendship, and nature. We encounter “a man so blond he cast a blue shadow,” and we descend into “the flittering ash of someone’s lonely hell.” We find the unexpected inside the ordinary, mostly in the confines of the Twin Cities. Like Mary Oliver exploring the Great Pond, Rucks brings us the universe within a few city blocks.