Garden Tools: Poems by David W. Berner

David W. Berner’s Garden Tools is an impressive first collection of poems by a celebrated author of fiction and memoirs. The poems within this volume are contemplative and often poignant portraits drawn from the everyday. The themes of leave-taking, the passage of time and loss—of people, places, and things—are a principal focus, and all are adeptly captured in this highly accessible and rewarding collection. The poet’s voice ranges from understated ferocity to endearing curiosity, but it is most often one of quiet reflection and elegiac tenderness. This is a collection worth celebrating.

–-John Muro, author of the poetry collections In the Lilac Hour and Pastoral Suite

“A soul-uplifting read full of near-to-the-heart metaphors and inspiring connections with immediate nature. Take your tea into the garden and breathe in this poetry for your own perfect moments drenched in delight.”

–Rita Mock-Pike, Editor-in-Chief of the MockingOwl Roost Literary Magazine

David W. Berner uses Nature in these poems as a vehicle to explore attachment, history and memory, often employing it as a metaphor or parallel for the cyclical and temporal—and also what it means to be human. His is a “search for tiny pieces / of something akin to wonder” (From his poem “At the Window”).

–Ian Gouge, author of 17 Alma Road

Garden Tools is exquisite, overflowing with rhythm and a resounding voice in sacred connection to our hearts and souls.

–-Nancy Chadwick – author of The Wisdom of the Willow