The Drum That Beats Within Us
“Eye-opening and a joy to read.” – BOOKTRIB
The tradition of the poet warrior endures throughout human history, from our Stone Age ancestors to the Bible’s King David, the Vikings of Iceland, Japan’s Samurai, the Shambhala teachings of Tibet, the ancient Greeks and medieval knights. Initially published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in City Lights Books, Mike Bond has won multiple prizes for his poetry and prose. “Passionately felt emotional connections, particularly to Western landscapes and Native American culture.” − KIRKUS
More
Poetry of the Rocky Mountains, of wilderness and the world, of human passion and destiny. An award-winning poet and critically acclaimed novelist, Mike Bond shares his deep love for our magnificent western forests, mountains and wild open spaces, his profound expression of the joys and tragedies of love and of life’s greatest existential questions.
First published by Lawrence Ferlinghetti in City Lights Books, Bond has won multiple prizes for his poetry and fiction, and now brings the multitude of his diverse experiences to his remarkable new book of poetry, THE DRUM THAT BEATS WITHIN US: Poems by Mike Bond (Big City Press; November 20, 2018).
Prefacing the book is his insightful essay on why poetry is an essential part of cognitive awareness, how we find meaning in the incomprehensible, beautiful, tragic and sacred mystery of life.
Reading poems, Bond says, enlarges our personal awareness of life’s exuberance, its terrible destiny. We learn in our own lives from the visions of others.
Writing poems is a window into ourselves, standing before a mirror to see who we are. To connect with the spirit of the world, which is true but always unknown.
Praise for The Drum That Beats Within Us
“An exploration of self and nature… that asks us to look at our environment through the eyes of animals… and the poetry that has been with us since the dawn of time… comforting, challenging, and thought provoking.” − Bound2Books
“His poetry courses, rhythmic and true through his works. His words serve as an important alarm for readers to wake from their contented slumber of self-absorbed thought and notice the changes around them. Eye-opening and a joy to read, the master of the existential thriller can add another winning title to his accolades.” − BookTrib
“The language is beautiful, heartbreaking, romantic, sad, savvy, and nostalgic all at once. From longer poems to very short, thought-provoking poems, the lines of each take the reader to a world the poet has experienced or given much thought to. Truly beautiful.” − Goodreads
More
“This is such a beautiful book of poetry… the imagery is vibrant, devastating, and haunting… A thoroughly modern 21st century collection that revisits and revises classic themes. Highly recommended.” − NetGalley
“A collection of poetry that explores the elements of nature, what nature can provide, what nature can take away, and how humans are connected to it all.” − Book Review Bin
“The poetry is sometimes raw, painful, exquisite but there is always the sense that it was written from the heart.” − LibraryThing
“The poems are beautiful and range from the long lyrical expressions of love and nature to the brief expressions of a moments insight into a sudden feeling, expressed with a few words that capture the moment and the feeling perfectly.” − Metapsychology Reviews
“The Drum That Beats Within Us presents us with a world gone awry, a world in which the warrior poet has fought, and a world in which only love survives.” – Vine Reviews
