At what speed did your thoughts fall,
thirty-two feet per second per second

I stood on Bachelor's Walk and watched the clouds

There is a perfect golden leaf
beneath the green surface of the Liffey
the leaf floats like a word you can not sound
like a tongue beneath the weight of a river

Do you know all the words
I am not saying to you

yes

I will set course by the cranes above Dublin
and when the gray fog walls block the sky
I will follow the brass buoys
set on the slate sea by an earlier mariner

I could say that you were an apparition
who entered and said my name in monotone

yes

Now I sit at my desk
and watch the sunset over you
soon the night will reflect my face
like the surface of a river

There is time enough,
what is twenty years to a mariner
(Copyright 2001, G. Annand)

Epitaphs and Bankbooks
No one wants to see
that the epitaphs are lies
said to mirrors
to complement the diaries

The graveyard is a bankbook
but you can’t never withdraw
your accounts
or recollect the rot

Maggots on the corpse,
that we buried in the backyard,
keep eating and hoping
the resurrection will not come
before the final course

No one says,
do you remember,
unless they can’t forget
and let markers rest.

We all know
the sun was never so salty,
the cream never so thick,
but yesterday is rotting,

The strength in many of these 14 multiple-page poems is their narrative completeness, shown through a voice which feels (rather than knows) the power of universal symbol...Annand's poetic gift is felt, rather than known...This poet should continue to mine a lode where his clear authority and tone reign: rambling and sensual narratives built of vignettes from life (driven through their drama - toward crescendo - with well-chosen 'stage direction' or refrain)...[His] sensitive awareness of objects in city/land/seadscape, of their slightest motion and sound - their many-layered and often randomly appearing/receding textures - is the recommendation of this poet (and encouragement to write much, much more)! --Tim Scannell

There is something to be said about good production values. How you package the work says a lot about how you value it...unless of course you're broke. Pathwise Press has published a handsome edition of Gordon Annad's poetry, YOU WRITE LIFE LIKE FICTION. The paper feels like and appears to be high quality, with no bleeding or blurring often found in lesser grades. The cover is eye-catching, with an interesting shade of green and an intriguing abstract print. Now...how about the poetry? Not bad...there is enough quality poetry here to justify giving up your three bucks. --Doug Holder, Ibbeston Street Press