Mostly Round, But Rough

This is a fine, first chapbook for David C. Waxman. An outstanding collection of poems that explore the journey to be oneself, while reaching to connect with others.

David is a poet, one that does not take this fact egotistically, evident with lines like this, “I find a poem in my applesauce.”

David gives us deep insights into his introspection when he shares his musings of his old professor, or Freud, or Marlowe and Spade.

David takes the small, often missed, creatures in our world and spins them into something larger in life that, if we allow, teaches us lessons that enrich our short time on this planet.

Seek out the blue jay, lynx, salamander, black bird, purple clover, sparrow, and gull. You, too, will gain a deeper understanding of life.

David is an expert in his use of the diminutive item, such as a pebble. The pebble which conveys the larger, more important takeaways in life. The pebble shows up in a couple of poems, but most importantly in the lines of the title poem, “Mostly Round, But Rough,” I fell and found a pebble/... Not a pebble in a creek/…but a pebble, just the same/… I put the pebble in my pocket/… I took the pebble from my pocket/It was mostly round, but rough/and it was warm in my hand.

David’s poems should be savored and seen as life lessons.

Dr. Tammy Nuzzo-Morgan