New Paths to Eden follows a narrative arc. Its themes hold the poems together through finding love, a song we lonely sense, never really hear, / never quite get those words outright (from Acclimation) losing love, to enduring love. Ground me once you’ve shown me/ what truths the heaven can hold. (from Be My Yoko Ono) It’s far from a smooth path as the darker sides of love, such as cheating, losing friends, and love turning to hate, are explored too. Each poem holds a truth, acutely observed, that will have readers nodding in recognition. Emma Lee, Reviews Editor for The Blue Nib
Griffith’s New Paths to Eden is a sensual description of past relationships and lost love. It starts with the awakening desires of a teenage boy on the threshold of manhood. There is a longing in his successive romantic encounters, and a hope that darkens as time wears down his relationships, and later, his marriage. The nadir is reached in his poem, The Pines, a fantasy depicting the murder of a lover: Dark words met dark minds / met dark hearts, met dark blood / met dark dirt. Despite these bitter disappointments, Griffith accepts his losses. He continues to grow with a new love, walking that new path to Eden, like an experienced traveler, weary and footsore, but confident about reaching his destination.
John David Muth, author of Reassure the Phoenix (Kelsay Books)
In New Paths to Eden poet Michael A. Griffith explores romantic and sexual love from first experiences to married love and beyond. His poems explore the joys and freshness of new love and also the loss of love. He brings us on a journey where we witness encounters with love in poems that are grounded in reality, which will resonate with the reader. I am happy to recommend this collection. Anne Walsh Donnelly, author of The Woman with an Owl Tattoo (Fly on the Wall Press) and Demise of the Undertaker’s Wife (The Blue Nib)
