By Chance is published by Kelsay Books, 2023, (61 pages, ISBN:978-1-63980-282-1) “By Chance” To begin at the ending. Fall descends softly, the sweet warmth of summer lingering until the equinox, when day and night align in perfect symmetry before tipping toward the dark. So goes the final poem in Emily Axelrod’s latest book. Despite its unfaltering luminosity and its reliable flashes of humor, “By Chance,” nonetheless, tips as subtly as a long summer evening toward the dark. Axelrod’s pleasure in the joys of childhood and her glowing affection for the natural world are evident from the beginning of “By Chance,” yet even as she delights in the eagerness of youth and wonders of nature, she is aware that we are always inching toward oblivion, a knowledge subtly woven into this celebration of light, a keen recognition that lends depth to her intimate collection of “everyday” poems. Many of the poems are lifted up by her acute wit, as well. The pandemic is “the sound of one hand clapping,” and the poem about her pet Atticus will be familiar to most cat owners, beginning as it does with “We have finally reached détente.” Axelrod’s gift for capturing the simultaneity of life’s dusks and dawns is quiet, credible, and effective. Her wonderful phrase about childhood where “we squandered our days like penny candy” shifts in the poem “Now and Then” as children shift into adulthood toward “the moment / when time became finite.” And in “Driving Lessons,” she offers up another of childhood’s paradoxes. From you I learned the beauty of a flawless downshift … And from you I learned to dread the cocktail hour. An imperfect romance, a girl and her father, a fitting rehearsal for all that life would bring. What life brings to Axelrod is not only the ups and downs of family and friendship but the wonders, small and large, of the natural world. Her penetrating gaze catches the slow motion of the sea, redwoods as tall as mountains, “the sound of fog / dripping a steady patter / on our cabin roof.” Nature is a savior, with a special power in water. Different topographies show the liquid temperament of water, its many guises. Finding the way through fog on the sea: On calm black water daylight fading into evening and buoys floating atop their own reflections Diving into the lake I shatter its reflection into droplets and float on the crystalline water as light as balsa weightless and in awe ///// Even In the manmade simulacrum of a pond, water has a saving significance. We swam at night Under the desert sky, our voices lifting into the dark while tendrils of steam rose from the pool ///// These few verses manifest Axelrod’s deft touch with rhythm as well as her gift for accurate but often surprising description. Familiar, everyday sights and sounds become palpable. Leafing through family recipes / memories unwind / like movie reels / brittle on their spools Another aspect of family life that transports the narrator into nothing short of bliss is the arrival of grandchildren. Standing outside in the evening with her toddler grandson in MoonTree, “A crescent / rises through leafy branches / as we stand hand in hand / you in your pajamas / soft lamb clutched against your body / face alight with wonder.” ///// In “Faith,” Axelrod begins with doubt but ends with this assertion: Yet sometimes I pray, to whom or to what I don’t always know, but in the moment … a child folds his small body into yours, surely we know the divine. One of the many beauties of Axelrod’s work is her awareness that as some of us tip toward darkness, others open their eyes to a world of light. ////// Emily H. Axelrod’s poems draw upon her childhood in San Francisco, an abiding connection to the landscape of Northern California, and summers spent on a small island in Maine. “By Chance” is Axelrod’s third book of poetry, following “Passerby” (Antrim Books, 2015) and “North Window” (Finishing Line Press, 2020). Her poems have been published in "The Muddy River Review," "The Galway Review," "the Cafe Review, "On the Seawall," and elsewhere. She is the winner of the 2019 Cambridge Poetry Contest. Axelrod’s professional life was in the world of architecture and urban planning, where she has worked both in public agencies and private firms in San Francisco and Boston. She has a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning from the Harvard Graduate School of Design, and is the former Director of the Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence, a national award for urban placemaking. She lives and works in Cambridge, MA.
Emily H. Axelrod
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Reviewer Alec Solomita has published stories and poems in many venues. His two published poetry books are “Do Not Forsake Me,” and “Hard To Be a Hero.” His work can also be seen here on Lightwood
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