When Nature Calls, Sea, Air and Land
Poems by Ant Mac
Michael Terence Publishing (2023)
ISBN: 978-1800945470
Reviewed by Jennifer Bisbing for Reader Views (04/2024)
More than ever, as a worldwide group, we are thinking about how to engage with the sea, air, and land respectfully. Author Ant Mac looks at that high-risk global premise from the perspective of the actual natural elements in “When Nature Calls, Sea, Air and Land.” This collection takes the reader deep into the world of even bugs, like a snail, “Inching the miles to a validation.” What you see in these poems is that every creature and spec of dirt matters, right down to that mollusk’s journey.
As a children’s book writer and educator, Mac approaches the voices of our natural resources in soft whispers and not the grueling agony of what an oil spill may feel like to an ocean—A unique poetic approach that diverges from environmental news articles that are predominately glum—where headlines bring on panic attacks. Instead, in Mac’s poems, we see how vigorous and resilient nature can be as in his Earth poem,
The sod that held its ground,
or in his The Tree poem,
The roots now stretched beyond the walls,
and I was reacquainted with the rest and more of my kin.
His best poems take on the voice and persona of natural objects, such as in The Plant.
If you could hear my voice.
Would you hear me beg for water?
One drop is all I need.
I would drink it all and waste nothing,
If on my knees I’d plead.
It may take a second read to grasp some of the more subtle looks at flowers, apples, trees, and birds.
Like many nature poets, Ant Mac’s work in “When Nature Calls: Sea, Air and Land” calls for readers to listen more deeply to their surroundings. With more engagement, either with these poems calling out for a “spider hater” like myself to think from its perspective to taking the time to listen more to the natural world, we may be able to hear the cry for help and make a difference.
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