A Bracelet of Honeybees

In A Bracelet of Honeybees, Lynn Strongin conveys braided stories of aging, pain, and sexuality through her signature genius with language. In these poems, we find Strongin, an older lesbian poet, surviving with the disabling remnants of a childhood bout with polio. Strongin's language is always lush and playful; her imagery always surprising; and her allusions always erudite. No emotion, notion, or possibility is missing in these sharp-witted, sometimes twisted, poems. Strongin writes despairing lines such as "all nights are hospital nights" and "In my childhood all cities were London bombed by the Germans" alongside praiseful stanzas such as "Unseen fire/ Reflected in your round face/ my ample, deep desire." A Bracelet of Honeybees is a joy ride; it's full of honey and sting.