Snakeskin Stilettos

Moyra Donaldson's voice is a woman’s voice—mother, daughter, wife, lover—tinged at times with anticipation, at times with regret. But always, the poet seeks the essence of life in the moment. In the title poem, she captures the wonder of emerging sexuality, as a girl finds her mother’s forbidden shoes and feels “Something/you’ve never felt before./These shoes are live and dangerous. A thoroughly modern poet, she does not avoid traditional forms, and she finds her imagery and metaphors, as those before her have, scattered in the harsh yet beautiful terrain of Ireland, her native land.