Some of the Things I’ve Seen

In her newest collection, Sara Berkeley follows a number of sightlines: watching the landscape from the window of a plane, contemplating the effects of climate change, witnessing human vulnerability and resilience as a hospice nurse during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her gaze traces the coastlines of the Pacific Ocean and moves with a coyote through the California desert to the Palio horse race in Sienna, a return to Ireland, and a migration to upstate New York. A marriage ends, forest fires spread, and a new love takes root in winter. Throughout, Berkeley maintains a tender awareness of the threats that surround us, especially for the children born into this increasingly uninhabitable world, as well as a keen appreciation of the passion and poetic insight we will all need to survive.