OPENING

Jean Lyford left this world in 2014. With this fourth and final collection of poetry, we are welcomed into new ways of understanding the many cycles of opening and closing that move throughout nature and human lives, especially the seminal ones that bookend each individual life. As she strives to make sense of the progression of her cancer, Jean takes us into the microscopic world of cells, the richness of memory, the life force of plants and animals, and even the swirling mysteries of black holes. We travel with her as she discovers that questioning may be more important than finding answers, that searching for meaning nourishes the human spirit, and that curiosity and hope can carry us though the sacred metamorphosis we call death.