Ephemera, by Luke Shuffield

Poetry, chapbook, 44 pages, from Bottlecap Features. Amid the unrelenting maelstrom of human experience, there are brief moments of respite, found in both strange and familiar forms. A bug on the knee or a blade of grass. A supermarket aisle or a cigarette. Sometimes, the respite comes in the shape of another person. A lover or a friend. A baby or a God. The burdens we carry become lighter when we stop to see, touch, taste, smell, hear these little things. Such fleeting little things. These are the ephemera that make life worth living. In this debut poetry collection, Luke Shuffield explores what makes him tick, attempting to bridge the gap between mind and mind and find common ground with the reader’s consciousness and conscience. His work strives to maintain a lyrical quality, while resting on a foundation of structure. The words should sound as strong on the tongue as they read on the page. It’s the author’s solemn and playful wish that Ephemera reminds one of what it feels like to be both an innocent child and a wise old bat. The poems, stanzas, lines, and words herein are nothing more or less than an exhalation, a sigh of relief that comes from getting something off one’s chest. Luke Shuffield is a man in search of balance between the mundane demands of “real life” and the mania of creative writing. He’s an economic development consultant by day and emerging author of both poetry and fiction by night. His poems have appeared in Lucky Jefferson and La Piccioletta Barca, and two of his short stories are forthcoming in The Bookends Review. Luke lives in Texas with the loves of his life, his wife Eileen and daughter Florence.