Cracked

From a clandestine attempt at theft to a final acceptance of life's convoluted and challenging path, in a burst of "Song," Life: Descending / Ascending covers much ground with thistle and wildflowers. Shapiro's second collection of poems is a rare volume that is both celebratory and somberly thought-provoking. It takes a poet, painter or musician to point out the minutiae of details in our human experience, those impressions that most strongly influence us, even in our unawareness of them. Shapiro's poems, in an esoteric but accessible fashion, are signals, symbols, hints at who we really are in this life.