The Rock and the Pebble

Defoe does what Defoe does best. The poems in this book range from the deep to the whimsical, which is what I'be come to expect and love about Mark's work. I always feel like he can take the most common of events and turn them into mysterious, wonderful benchmarks against which to remember one's life. My personal favorite from this collection is “Lack of an Antecedent”...it is a perfect blend of the taboo feelings many of us have when sitting next to soldier on his or her way home - pride, pity, wonder, disgust, this list could go on for a while. And even as we're harboring these feelings, we know that the majority of them are not directed at or caused by that soldier...it's our way of transferring our own deep instincts about war, peace, and the governments that make us choose between them. Ever want to know how that sounds in metaphor? Pick up “The Rock and the Pebble”.