A collection of poems and watercolors by David Chorlton, centered on birds, desert landscapes, and the changing seasons in the American Southwest. The poems reference specific bird species such as the turkey vulture, Costa's hummingbird, Gila woodpecker, and oriole, and touch on themes of migration, border politics, and the natural world. The watercolors are not described in the provided text,…
Creation's Summer is a collection of poems and watercolors by David Chorlton. The document is a poetry chapbook that blends natural observation with personal reflection, aimed at readers interested in contemporary poetry, nature writing, and the American Southwest landscape.
The first section, Local Birds, opens with poems about specific birds observed in the author's environment: a turkey vulture, Costa's hummingbird, Gila woodpeckers, owls, and hawks. These poems weave together descriptions of bird behavior with broader meditations on life, death, and human presence in the desert.
Migration Watch follows, contrasting the arrival of spring orioles with distant war and rising prices. The poem uses the bird's journey from Mexico as a lens to examine digital life, passwords, and the search for meaning in a world out of tune. Mockingbird continues this nocturnal theme, exploring insomnia and the sounds of the night.
Spiritrunner introduces a more mythical figure, a bird-like spirit that brings rain and good luck in Zuni and Maya traditions. The poem portrays this creature as a protector against evil and a source of joy, running through the backyard and carrying lightning in its beak. The collection ends with a section titled Creation's Summer, which includes poems about summer nights, storms, and the rewriting of borders.
The acknowledgements list previous publications where individual poems first appeared, including Amethyst Review, The Blue Guitar, Eunoia Review, and International Times, among others. The document is 48 pages long and contains both text and watercolor illustrations.