Human Compromise

At what point does a desire to protect cross over into an obsession to control? Human Compromise is a collection of original poems that addresses that tension, particularly in the context of family, and in scenes spanning farm to prison to suburbia, Italy to Africa. The notion of compromise---minor, romantic, mythic---is displayed in its distinctly human dimensions. Martyrdom is critiqued as a force both constructive and destructive; a series of poems based on vintage circus photography examines the balance between performer and audience, the art and artifice of suffering. "Chronic Medea," a sonnet sequence set in classical form infused with modern vernacular, uses Medea's narrative to explore the ambiguous nature of sacrifice rather than to reduce her to a mere villain. Throughout these pages, the poet asks the reader to consider sinning as both act of will and lack of will.