Poet Linda Imbler’s ninth collection contains images of the best and the worst of humanity: stories of love, death, justice, betrayal, friendship, sorrow, and courage. Here are many essential concepts succinctly related in 15 lines or less. Although the compositions are brief and concise, as one reads the lines, the poet’s really big ideas explode off the page, leaving the reader with those relatable a-ha moments that are so satisfying to the psyche.

There is an array of poetic styles here: elfchens, Haiku, Nonets, Triolets, Etherees, rhyming poems, and free style poems. This is a delightful book that will be read and reread by poetry lovers and those for whom contemplation is more than a hobby.

That Fifth Element