Chasing Echoes

Chasing Echoes passionately brings the past to the present through nature. Walt Barger sees himself in the ocean that . . . continues to roll waves to an empty beach in the dawn that . . . neatly fold[s] the blanket of stars. . . in the West... His words gracefully balance the self in nature . . . like the spindle of a fine time piece. Bargers poetry evokes the simplicity of a past both rural and Southern. Whether he is describing overalls or a weather worn piano objects take on presence. The language is vivid with a sense of history that is personal and connected. Poems like Bib with Buttoned Fly vividly speak of his memories at eight years old of owning a new pair of overalls in crisp sharp lines. The poem I Wish you Bluebirds is a poem with surprising freshness in the lines when ... thoughts are stumbling over stones of clay I wish you bluebirds to sing and pave the way. Walt Barger has a great sense of place. Walking through his poetry you see family friends and neighbors. His use of description takes us home. Margaret Britton Vaughn Poet Laureate of Tennessee