I attempted to read this book cover-to-cover. The pain expressed, latent and current, is overwhelming. I will revisit it in pieces until I finish, but as a wholistic review, I run short. The writing is incredibly eloquent and the ideas so sincere and raw that I must agree with myself to stop reading and revisit.
A powerful, honest book ( )

It took me a long time to read Weigl's book, not because it is a lengthy book (141 pages, many of which contain a short paragraph), but because it is the kind of material that benefits from a slow approach. There is no linear story; the whole is a series of meditations, musings, and observations. There is no requirement to proceed in a particular order, either. While the overall topic leans towards the dark and somer (present times, war), the overall tone is both elegiac and luminous.

I’ve read Weigl’s Somgs of Napalm several times and have always found that book compelling. The poems at least mostly convey his experiences as a young infantryman during the Vietnam war. In this book of poems Among Elms, in Ambush quite often we see the poet still living out those experiences as a much older adult. Much of what goes on in these pages is about reconciling the past. The poems quite often bring up PTSD experiences, accidental noises for instance that take him back to relive those times of personal trauma. Sometimes we also see him at a VA hospitals with other veterans helping each other to cope. There are also numerous poems about post war trips and experiences to Vietnam which also for him is a way to reconcile his past.

Anyway I really liked the book. ( )