A Review of Dragonfly and Other Songs of Mourning by Michelle Scalise

Michelle Scalise's book of poems mourning the death of her husband, horror writer Tom Piccirilli, are every bit as moving as Donald Hall's "Without." I never thought I would find a book of poetry on mourning that matched Hall's in quality and emotional depth, but this book does. When I finished reading it at the airport in Grand Rapids, I was in tears and had to get up and walk around, luggage and all, to process the emotions. I teach philosophy and medical ethics and will be teaching a course on "The Meaning of Death" this fall. I plan to use some of these poems in the class. The title poem, "Dragonfly", expresses the frustration of the grieving with the trite statements well-meaning friends and relatives make: "Plug my ears to no avail / their voices go on and on / 'At least he's not in pain'," as if that makes the loss any easier. I cannot adequate describe the beauty and emotional punch of these poems. I recommend them to anyone who desires to read fine poetry as well as anyone who works with the dying and the mourning or teaches courses in those areas.