The Sound of a Collective Pulse by Cristina M. R. Norcross
Kelsay Books, 2021
Let’s not just get inspired but empowered. Cristina M. R. Norcross has done this once more within her collection The Sound of a Collective Pulse. The cover dons a hummingbird about to drink from orange freesia, which works well as a metaphor for the collection considering the setting of Covid times in spring and summer and the meaning of hummingbirds to enjoy simplicity and take time for the self. Each poem gives a sense of uncertainty, of wholeness, and of togetherness all met with hope.
It’s easy enough to be uncertain during a time when uncertainty and misinformation are around every corner. “Uncertain Feet” certainly captures these feelings with the metaphor of walking down a set of stairs without seeing where they lead and being on “a bridge to nowhere.” Trusting what? Our instincts? No, rather the simple secret: the promise and remembrance of simple gestures once enjoyed, “our hands once connected in greeting” for example. There’s hope to enjoy simple things once again and within the moments lost.
“You are the opening / to the next dimension,” Norcross writes in the opening poem “New Dimensions.” The wholeness of the self is captured within these lines, an empowering image. To reimagine the self as its own “new world” with a “new atmosphere” where one can “[l]et go of unwanted burdens” gives the reader a gift of a refreshed and powerful sense of being. We often lose ourselves within what is going on in the world around us, forgetting we are worlds within ourselves. We are whole, new worlds, gravitating towards each other; “all who open the door / are welcome.”
Being together is necessary during difficult times. The title poem, “The Sound of a Collective Pulse,” proves that all of us are in this new unknown reality, utilizing the pronoun “we” over and over, as most of these poems do. At first, all feels hopeless with news that has “jolt[s] of loss and destruction.” Everyone is/was in so much fear and uncertainty. It is difficult not to feel alone within the walls of our own homes, but hope is given. Connection created: “We connect through voice, word, and video.” This poem is the best rendering of what we all went through during lockdown: the hopelessness turned hopeful, the fear turned to elation, and the ache turned to the existence of a collective pulse.
With hope resounding, The Sound of a Collective Pulse takes us out of uncertainties, makes us feel whole, and creates togetherness. These poems universally encapsulate a time, but also transcend that time for those who feel isolated and uncertain within our new reality (or possibly within a personal reality of mental or physical illness). We often forget that there is hope within times of uncertainty in this world. We forget we are whole. We forget we are together in this, connected no matter the circumstances. Norcross reminds us that hope is not the thing with feathers that flew away, but rather, is flying to our flowers in our windowsills. Take time for the simple things and to appreciate all we have.
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Kathrine Yets holds many educational roles, including running LakeSide Poets & Writers. She has four chapbooks traditionally published through Cyberwit and Unsolicited Press. Works can be found recently within Woman Scream, Olit, and Eternal Haunted Summer.