The poetry in Bread Upon the Waters explores family relationships through the beauty of language-accurate words and compelling rhythms-chosen to express universal feelings of loss, resignation, and compassion in the human heart and mind. Divided into five sections: Section I, Blood Mother, examines the phenomenon of mothers who reject their children; Section II, Mother Speaks, explores geographical and emotional distances among family members; Section III, Sighting the Eagle, considers the effects of world events on families; Section IV, A Quality of the Visible, illuminates facets of love; and Section V, To Live With Women, recognizes the bittersweet consequences of aging and death.
Lorene Erickson frequently uses a narrative form to create stories that ask difficult questions about family relationships. The answers to these questions, if there are answers, must rise from the depth of the reader's own experiences.
