Dancing to the Marigold Mazurka

Beautiful imagery and wordplay combine to create this defining collection of poetry from Rita Durrant.

Dancing to the Marigold Mazurka celebrates the rich experiences of life in all its facets. Durrant explores the terror of a biopsy, the simple joy of antique shopping on a lazy Sunday afternoon, a bittersweet wartime wedding of 1945, and even the loving routine of preparing a family Thanksgiving feast.

Melodic phrases produce a whimsical flavor. In "Uncle Lou", a child awaits "the ching-ching of sleigh bells" while the blue waters "echo like the gentle ting-ting-ting of silver wind chimes" at "The Garden of Chambrel."

But it is Durrant's flair for description that truly captures the simple aspects of our world. In "Joy and Sorrow" she describes a pheasant with "his teal necklace, white circlet and golden body gleaming." The sunset becomes "a mantle of amethyst mist deepened to purple" in "Romance at Sunset", and "fire flickers on the hearth, an iron kettle swings, candlelight reflects in ruffled windows, and mulled cider, spiked with spirits, beckons" in "Tour of the Parry Mansion, New Hope."

Immerse yourself in the little treasures of life with Dancing to the Marigold Mazurka.