The Drum That Beats Within Us

"Returning, we find the past has lost the present. It stands alone, discreet within us, no longer true". -Homecoming by Mike Bond I usually read classic poetry but do like to delve into modern poetry as well. I was drawn to this collection by the cover and the beautiful title and as such it does not disappoint. Nature, and our role in it and with each other seems to be the central thread that connects the poems collected here. There are poems of love, death, nature's destruction, and life, as seen through the eyes of animals as well as a question for humanity: why are we here? What is our purpose? What responsibility do we and should we have toward nature? As with all poetry, I connected with some more than others. The poetry is sometimes raw, painful, exquisite but there is always the sense that it was written from the heart.