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avisreadsandreads's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content
kiramke's review
3.0
I quite liked the (title) heart cycle, the deer, the fish, the mule, and a few scattered others - those with quietude or seeking now-ness, those meeting grief head-on. Others read more like standard love poems. Of course we can never like all of a poet's work just the same, and those will be someone else's favorites.
cjazzlee's review
5.0
Loved this book so much. She set the bar high for me and I compare a lot of poetry I've read since to the feelings and imagery that reading this collection evoked in me.
The author writes beautifully about the heart as the centre of as well as a metaphor for everything else in life.
The author writes beautifully about the heart as the centre of as well as a metaphor for everything else in life.
lgallo's review
5.0
I have loved all of Hirshfield's translations, but this is my favorite of her original works (so far). Her poems are all so rich in emotion, whether the topic be seemingly banal (Leaf, Lake and Maple, The Bearded Woman) or deeply personal (Manners/Rwanda, Salt Heart, Talc).
alexlanz's review
Really liked the poems in part two, which seemed to de-familiarize common sights; part three was kinda Buddhist.
arnie's review against another edition
2.0
In her review S said, "A few poems resonated with me here and there, but mostly this collection wasn’t for me." My feelings exactly. She has some lovely images, but for me too much heaven and hell, Eastern mysticism, and lots of leaves.
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