I HERE AND THERE Marie Reilly s fifth collection of poems considers the grandeur of turbulence in the natural world The poet ponders the piquancy of moments at hand in the southwest desert and in memory disrupted by a beauty that speaks of eternal forces The poems reveal the human eye and soul witnessing the beauty in natural disturbances II In the first segment titled Outer Space Blood Music epitomizes the prevailing sense of the collection as a whoe Vividness in nature is reflected in the excitement of the human spirit Blood Music The eye spies a deepening pink lily on the pond poised and cool under simmering sun when a music roils the ground bestirs the green reflection of blue Oh It is the blood that is a swirl internal settings command the song And oh Hummingbirds dance to it The red they see makes them whirl a reddening pink they pay obeisance to I know it is so In the Indian paintbrush there is no music Yet when I spy the high color sense the coursing of blood in my body a flow and ebb of fluids blue and red music appears In that moment the spirit a universal soul dances and prays and resounds Shifting to Inner Space the poet in To the End admits to a compromised ambivalence about mortality To the End Death Certainly not I do not believe in it I will not prepare for it No matter one s age death is unfair and it s too bad Oh I am old too bad But I am bold I stay in the parade I march with dieticians social workers patient representatives Along the route I sing hymns or hum in step with chaplains physical therapists nurses aides And defy death Unscented Balm in the third section titled Close to Home quietly celebrates the peaceful character of domesticity Unscented Balm We set the table for eight served the fare Hosted new friends toasted the oldest Sang chatted and supped never rested We served second helpings refreshed the drinks tended to special requests In easy chairs n