Review: “Elephant Rocks” by Kay Ryan

Neutral rating for Elephant Rocks by Kay Ryan. Poetry.

Inspired by The Anthologist (my review), I am reading poetry. This book, which had been lingering on my shelf forever, was short enough to be read from cover to cover: and given the low density of the poems, it took no more than an hour. I copied out two poems (one of which was five lines) and four other lines that stood out even if their home poems did not. Not all that great of a ratio though I didn’t dislike the reading as a whole. I am satisfied that I have seen what there is to see here.

A chick has just so much time
to chip its way out, just so much
egg energy to apply to the weakest spot
or whatever spot it started at.
It can’t afford doubt. Who can?
Doubt uses albumen
at twice the rate of work.
One backward look by any of us
can cost what it cost Orpheus.
Neither may you answer
the stranger’s knock;
you know it is the Person from Porlock
who eats dreams from dinner,
his napkin stained the most delicate colors.
—Doubt