by Jacquelyn Markham (Author)
The powerful poems in Rainbow Warrior make connections between the lives of the islanders of the South Pacific impacted by nuclear testing on Bikini and nearby islands and the Deep Water Horizon oil spill that devastated land and sea off the coast of Louisiana. The poems in this collection, some narrative, some epic, some lyrical, reveal the human toll of environmental disasters. Images of the lone Ivory Billed Woodpecker, now extinct, juxtaposed with a child listening to the "Mother of the Sea" chant from a spiral shell, or fledglings the "size of pennies/...copper in the sun" make everyday moments of healing and beauty in nature even more poignant. These poems that follow the moon and the tides strike awe in our hearts and move us toward a deeper social consciousness.