Quark Soup is a cryptic collection of seductive poetry that provides food for deep introspection, while personifying planets and ascribing celestial properties to humans. The themes of childbirth and supernovae are cleverly interwoven, often disguising the author’s intent. In a great mystery, cosmic wonders flow into love and relationships, exciting the reader’s imagination.
Take a look at this segment of Coil of Life:
Throwing matter in all directions
the particles of the embryonic universe
rushing from each other.
In the beginning there was nothing
but plasma soup. Less than a second later
pure energy became
a still measurable slippery birth cry
fifteen billion years later
In decaying echoes from space
***
Does the author refer to the birth of a child or of a universe?
In this excerpt from Aurora, Ms. Ball appears to be pleading with a cold-hearted scientist who has lost the ability to perceive beauty and perhaps also the ability to show affection. Follow their sincere plea.
***
If I could capture that spectrum
the atomic neon sign of your lost wonder
and feed you with a spoon
when your lonely vigil against
poverty and incompetence
turns into ball and chain
I’d give up my own food
stand with your back to the solar wind
I close my eyes to the beauty
to keep you warm.
I would be your personal aurora
your talisman against the dark lure of boredom
a charge of electric current
its ionosphere.
***
Science and passion come together in masterful imagery as love, loss, and motherhood flow in and out of streams of images captured by Ms. Ball.
The theme of loss is addressed in several pieces, most particularly in Green, which deals with the loss of a mother to cancer. Examine this excerpt:
my fingers worked independently
of intention
tracing the landscape of her arched back
as he bent over his porcelain foreman
begging for the drugs he couldn’t swallow
to kill the disease
indistinguishable from its own cells
***
The Honest Emotion covers topics like lonely childhood, the perfect universe, an impersonal lover, and the endless joy of parenthood. With skillful tapestries of words, the poems are infused with the wisdom of deep thought and experience, a rare commodity in such a young author. The collection is highly recommended and will be treasured on this reviewer’s shelf.
