The Stone and the Square

In his Salt and Sorrow, Pickering laments the departure of the Muse. In her absence, he composed poems of self-doubt and Christian salvation. In this new collection, the Muse returns as the embodiment of Love. Love inspires all Being with goodness and beauty. Love flows through the veins of life and in this collection She is ever-present as a subtle reflection of oneself. Many of these poems were written during the Great Texas Freeze of 2021 as the power outage led to the poet's boredom. Other poems were written at different times of inspiration. These poems are heavily imbued with the beauty of life, 'amor fati,' and truth as the ultimate concern of the poet. The return of the poet's Muse is celebrated throughout.