The poems in this volume celebrate love and lament its loss; bathe in the warmth of family while standing in the cold; see sexuality as a life force and measure the pulse of betrayal with a clarity that is nothing short of disarming. At times, O’Callaghan can be clever in the very best sense regarding technique and poetic voice, handling one with virtuosity and interrogating the other with postmodern zeal. At others, he drops his guard and witnesses the given life with a candor and simplicity that is made even more powerful because it has been so richly earned. All emotion is parried and tested with a command of poetry’s themes and forms that is as deft as one is likely to encounter anywhere by anyone.
