Butterfly Eyes and Other Secrets of the Meadow (review)

In Song of the Water Boatman & Other Pond Poems (BCCB 7/05), Sidman poetically treated the world of the pond; now she turns to the ecosystem of the meadow in sixteen new poems. Each spread offers two poems in riddle form, ending with an encouragement to guess at the identity of the subject; the following spread gives the answers and explains more about those particular meadow features or inhabitants. Most poems are gently rhymed or lyrical free verse accented with touches of repetition and soundplay, but a concrete poem and a pantoum also appear. Though the riddle aspect of the verses isn't always successful as a game (some poems offer too many possibilities, while in others—such as the one limning a plant's xylem and phloem—the subject is simply too technical for realistic guessing), the poems are still eloquent literature, and the explanations will quickly put the subjects into context. Krommes exercises such tight control over her scratchboard lines that her images resemble wood engraving with their hatch and cross-hatch textures; subdued colors and the rhythmic shadings of the black line bring order to what could otherwise be overcrowded meadow scenes. This makes an apt partner to Song of the Water Boatman, or it could serve on its own as a poetic introduction to this particular biosystem or a look at the unusual subjects poetry can effectively treat. A glossary of the relevant natural-history terms (and one poetic term) is included.