Phased II

"These poems remind all of us, whether we're poets or not, how much we need and desire the moon, which is always with us. I love how Held's moon takes on human attributes, sometimes amenable, sometimes not - perhaps best displayed in the ending lines of the poem 'Menses': 'Think I can't / influence the tides or drive / men mad? Ask my lovers.' This is exactly the type of moon we want hovering over the city and its environs - tough when necessary like the inhabitants themselves. No, the moon won't pay our rent, but it's ours for free - full-throated and alive. Or as Held says about his relationship with the moon: 'Even Sandy / Can't take that / Away from we.' The moon in all its colors would agree." - Tim Suermondt, ELECTION NIGHT AND THE FIVE SATINS (Glass Lyre Press, 20I6)

"Here the moon becomes a mirror, the articulation of a life. In the same way the ocean tells us what the moon is feeling, these poems reveal the poetic speaker's soul." - Robert Carlos Garcia, founder of Get Fresh Books LLC, MELANCOLÍA (Cervana Barva Press, 2016)