Book Review: Blue California Sky

Reviewed by Kristine Eckart

A ruminative look at grief and our lives through the small moments of nature

In this collection of poems, B.L. Bruce uses nature to look back and reflect on meaningful moments of her life—moments of love and joy, of loss and grief, of anger and turmoil.

A constant comparison of the past and the present, Blue California Sky begins with the intricacies of love with “Years Gone” and “In the Beginning,” contemplating the blossoming of love and the small things like the scent and feel of another’s body so close to one’s own. Moving through time, “What Happens When the Magic Dissipates” and “There’s Only So Much I Can Do” investigate how love changes through the years, all the things one expects, and all the surprises along the way.

“For you, I’d have crossed deserts on my hands and knees.” 

But this collection is about more than romantic love; it also explores familial love and the grief of losing one’s family. “Once Each Year” references the small details that surface when the author recalls the day her sister went missing and the annual pruning in the garden her mother does in a ritual of grief. 

“They say sadness is held in the hips, anger in the mouth. These are the places I hold you: the pit of my belly, my throat. And the slow dances of the years, where do we hold them? In scars that mark the chapters of our lives, our told stories?” 

Appearing in several poems including “Roses on the State Park Overpass,” the image of white roses ties the disappearance of the speaker’s sister to the suicide of a woman in town and the speaker’s own attempt, a symbol of pain and turmoil budding through a life. 

I most enjoyed the observations of nature that reflect the inner thoughts and emotions. 

In “Each Morning For Nine Days,” the speaker scans the sunrise, noting the way it makes her feel small against the magnitude of the world, wondering if the generations that observe future sunrises will feel the same. “A Few Days Ago” marvels at snow-topped mountains, snow’s inherent ability for melting reflecting the desire for something permanent. Finally, in I “Find It Curious,” we recall the immortality of Robin’s egg blue in the speaker’s memory, forever tied to the loss of her sister and to other blue hues like the sky overhead, a symbol that contributes to the collection’s title. 

This collection will resonate with readers who enjoy the pleasures of nature and those who may find poetry unapproachable because this collection is easy to enjoy in small bites, a page a day adding emotion and Californian scenery to your world. 

“And yet, the moon smiles down at you. You are healing.”

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