This Present Moment: New Poems

Snyder (Nobody Home), a Zen Buddhist and 1975 Pulitzer Prize winner who has been writing poetry and prose for over 50 years, continues to address themes present in much of his work. He focuses on his travels, the wonders of history, and the environment, all with heavy emphasis on the metaphysical. Snyder lives by the conviction that the "blue sky duomo" is "all the church we%E2%80%99ll ever need," and his poems are jocular, yet poignant; in a forest he sees "someone napping with his chainsaw/ after lunch," and while watching squirrels he equates their "wildly horny ferociously aloof" chase to that of Artemis and Pan. In addition to his tributes to nature, he touches upon an ever-surprising variety of subjects: the Eiffel Tower, Michelangelo%E2%80%99s "David," Abraham Lincoln, his computer, and polyandry. Of all the poems here, "Go Now," a retelling of his beloved%E2%80%99s death, is most likely to evoke a spiritual experience. As Snyder describes her cremation, a harrowing yet beautiful experience, he recalls the fumes as he watched her body disappear, as well as the feeling of eternal love: "This is the price of attachment," he writes, "worth even the smell." Snyder has parceled out the decade since his last poetry collection (Danger on Peaks) into textured poems of a rare and welcome candor. (Apr.)