Oasis: Poems & Paintings

Oasis is a refuge of comfort and safety a plunge into beauty a respite from toil. It can offer a pause for reflection on the journey; perhaps a time for Memories of Ice cream on a hot sidewalk where childhood skipped... This precious resource Laura Williams-Chassot reveals is within. It is not kind not necessarily gentle with Memories of Healing pain that cant be fixed; but is nurturing. It is not always accessible. But it is there-or here. Even when the worst confronts us our individual paths can lead us to an oasis of sustaining energy and insight. This volume of poetry forms a loosely sketched narrative each work a way station on an autobiographical pilgrimage. Each element stands alone with its particular subject matter structure and vocabulary--not a series but a metaphorical possibility. The poet is a painter. The ­painting is a poem. But essentially Laura is the elusive trickster who engages simple ­observation as a mirror of paradoxical truths. A poet who enlists the reader as an ally while -­reserving facets and riddles of understanding to be ­revealed in future encounters.