Rings of Wood: The Poetry of Brian Baumer

This eloquent collection of poetic verse shares thoughts about nature, differing perceptions of the world, love, heartbreak, and introspection. In "It Occurs to Me" Baumer writes about the search for one's place in life. The narrator of the poem searches "within and without" the self while walking "through the shadow of doubt" to finding meaning. Throughout the collection in poems such as "Snow Drifts on a Field of Brown," "Mississippi River Running," and "Waterfalls in Darkness," Baumer uses nature as a metaphor to explore the human condition.

About the Author
Brian Baumer was born in 1970 and died in 2008 from the effects of a chemical addiction. He had a brother, Tom. He served in the Army Reserves for six years. He graduated from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, with a B.A. degree in psychology. He worked in the human services field providing residential services for people with developmental disabilities. Brian was gifted in helping those less fortunate than him. He was a kind and gentle soul known for his love of nature, animals, and woodworking. His love and passion for writing poetry was his true work. Rings of Wood is a collection of his poems from 1988 to 2006. Of his poems he wrote to his maternal grandmother, "This is my blood, sweat, tears, and joy."
Bonnie Rasmussen is a retired psychologist living in the Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota area. She provides volunteer services for her church and Allina Health Hospice program. She enjoys being with family and friends, attending spiritual seminars, going on nature walks, and going to movies, concerts, musicals, and ballets.