Making a mark in the literary world is a first published anthology of poems by author Robert Joseph Foley. In These Little Poems of Death and after Life, Foley enables his readers to open their hearts and minds when considering the fate of both those who have gone beyond as well as those who have been left behind.

The startling narratives in this collection investigate with stunning insight the impact of death on the lives of ordinary people. In “Remembrance,” an accidental couple copes with the suicide of their brilliant son; in “The Visitation,” two young brothers confront the mystery of a grandfather who has suddenly left their lives; in “The Days of Romeo Are over” an actor ponders the ramifications of his final curtain call; in “Setting It Right,” an elderly couple wrestles with the specter of revenge after their life savings have been embezzled; in “The Rape,” a man confronts a childhood memory that leads to an act of brutal violence.

Throughout this absorbing collection, the author explores people’s reactions to life and its inevitable consequences, at turns tragic and horrifying; at turns mordantly humorous. Poem after poem presents to the readers attitudes toward death that are both surprising to the heart and challenging to the mind offering at last the hope of reconciliation and peace after a fitful journey.

Book Excerpt

Short Poem