The Salt Widow

The title of this book, THE SALT WIDOW, is a reference to the biblical figure, Lot’s wife, who turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back on the city of Sodom in flames. Joan Colby’s last-written volume of poetry is also a looking back, a marking of her grief for her partner of 60 years, Alan Colby. This memoir of their sometimes tumultuous, always creative, fiercely honest life begins as she struggles to understand the meaning of Alan’s last words to her; recalls the regrets and pleasures of their marriage; and concludes with a kind of clarifying desiccation: And, look! There’s the ruined city/ Smoldering. How could I resist/ Staring until my eyes were dry/ And tearless?