Fallen Away by Ron. Lavalette

Ron. Lavalette writes with honesty and humor through some Hunter Thompson-esque scenes with moons, whether buttery in August or shivering in a snowy Vermont winter.  From the realistic to fantastic, youth is revisited and aging acknowledged … “Almost 20 years later, I find the Buddha.  I know him instantly. Each of us has aged, lugging around our bellies, and I too, am bald…”  Current events are told through unschooled little fish being preyed on by the big fish “… everyone went with the flow/ No one was laughing now.” In a thematic series of “She Goes Away” poems, Lavalette reveals his vulnerability, as he “puts his coffee cups in the washer like he’s putting babies to sleep, like he’s mailing her a letter…” It all falls into place even if it breaks in Falling Away… meanwhile Lavalette “calculates airfare…”

–Colleen Redman is a blogger who writes and photographs for The Floyd Press newspaper. Her poetry collection, Packing a Suitcase for the Afterlife, was published in 2017 by Finishing Line Press.