Last Poems

A rare display of poetic mastery and stylistic brilliance, this new collection of poetry by Thomas Sanfilip is a unique work of remarkable emotional intensity and spiritual courage that in many ways defies categorization. Reminiscent of the fragmented elegies of the ancient Greeks, Last Poems is a riveting monody to the last days of a family in physical and spiritual decline. Shifting between dialogue with his own conscience and inner monologues with each family member, Sanfilip's voice is at once plaintive and somber, stalwart and unyielding in his effort to reconcile the tragedies that have brought each individually and collectively to despair. At the same time, Sanfilip transforms disillusionment into profound mystical appeals that set out to resolve the disparities between life and death, meaning and self-negation in the light of familial love and its struggle for affirmation. In the end, each family member becomes a distinct archetype that leads the poet to a greater understanding of the tenuous connection we hold to the world, the people closest to us, and to the living substance of the soul in all its tragic beauty.