"Reply to Oblivion, " Donald Patrick Redheffer's new poetry collection, presents poems covering over two hundred subjects, including aging, wit, democracy, flattery, love, poetry, religion, and war. Every effort has been made to retain those forms that characterize unforgettable songs of the past. Although rhythm and rhyme are critical, meter has been manipulated for artistic impact. They aim for a place where sense and sound merge into the beautiful and true.
The poetry addresses issues of the head and the heart, exploring philosophy, government, and human nature. It revisits old ideas in an effort to make them live in a way not seen before. The poet's mind wanders, not knowing where it will alight.
"Milton and His Kind
Shelley, Keats and Tennyson
With voices made to last
Have been replaced by charlatans
Who cry - freedom from the past.
Freedom from excellence
Is the hallmark of their craft.
Great intellects are rarely found
In an artistic overdraft.
The minds who might thrill
The thoughtful and the wise
Are seldom seen in poetry
For the world has passed them by.
What passes for verse
Assaulting our mind
Is unworthy of a race
Spawning Milton and his kind."