Everything Is Waiting for You

The title of David Whyte's fifth volume of poetry is an apt description of its contents. Everything, he points out, is indeed waiting for us, including our own demise and the demise of those we love. In less eloquent hands, this wisdom might feel burdensome, but in Whyte's language and imagery, these poems convey the beauty inherent in impermanence. Its second chapter, Thresholds, charts the experience of death of a loved one, and Friends, Marriage, Chances and Returns celebrate and explore the relationships, including the relationship with ourself, that accompany us along the journey, for however short or long we're given.