74 wish we could express as elegantly. We see clearly why, as Chaffin writes in ―Antique,‖ his beloved allows him to ―love / the soft things of this world / without embarrassment.‖ Chaffin‘s poetry casts a wide net, and he is a poet of this world. From the ephemeral light in ―The Gloaming‖ where ―you can feel the long breath / of earth‘s revolving being drawn / and blown out slowly‖ to a mock-epic trip to the
Laundromat in ―The Sudyssey,‖ replete with witticisms like the section titled Dionysus: ―A drunk hustling change / squints in the enamel glare: // ‗Can you spare any change?‘ / ‗Who has change at a laundromat?‘ I say.‖ Chaffin grounds the reader in the here-and-now. His work reminds us, as poetry should, to pay attention to the world around us, and, to a degree, revere that world.
―Smokey Mountains #1‖ ~ Russell Bittner 2009
Permissions to reproduce selected poems in this review, in full, from Unexpected Light, were granted by the author, C. E. Chaffin. “Tonic” first appeared in Tryst, and “Baby” in Crescent Moon Journal.
Read 2 more of C. E.’s poems on pages 39-40.
E. K. Mortenson is an MFA candidate at Western Connecticut State University. When he is not writing book reviews or poetry, he works as an English teacher. His reviews have appeared in RATTLE, Connecticut River Review, and Rain Taxi. His verse appears widely in print and online. He lives in Stamford, CT with his wife, son, and two cats. This is E. K.‘s second appearance in The Centrifugal Eye. Contact E. K.