Walt Barger

Chasing Echoes Walt Barger

Chasing Echoes passionately brings the past to the present through nature. Walt Barger sees himself in the ocean that ". . . continues to roll waves to an empty beach," in the dawn that ". . . neatly fold[s] the blanket of stars. . . in the West..." His words gracefully balance the self in nature ". . . like the spindle of a fine time piece." Barger's poetry evokes the simplicity of a past both rural and Southern. Whether he is describing overalls or a weather worn piano, objects take on presence. The language is vivid with a sense of history that is personal and connected. Poems like "Bib with Buttoned Fly" vividly speak of his memories, at eight years old, of owning a new pair of overalls in crisp, sharp lines. The poem "I Wish you Bluebirds" is a poem with surprising freshness in the lines "when ... thoughts are stumbling over stones of clay, I wish you bluebirds to sing, and pave the way." "Walt Barger has a great sense of place. Walking through his poetry, you see family, friends, and neighbors. His use of description takes us home." Margaret Britton Vaughn Poet Laureate of Tennessee