The Role of the Moon
Poems
By (author) D.S. Martin
- ISBN: 9798893480177
- Trim size: 5.5 x 8.5 inches
- Pages: 112
- Publication Date: 14 Oct 2025
- Format: Paperback
Step into a captivating poetic conversation that spans centuries. The Role of the Moon explores the timeless themes of faith, loss, transcendence, and renewal, echoing the intricate metaphors of John Donne, George Herbert, and their 17th-century contemporaries. Inspired by the rich tradition of Metaphysical Poetry, this collection weaves together spiritual depth and lyrical brilliance, offering reflections that speak to the modern soul and challenge readers to think deeply about life's big questions.
Engaging with the works of Milton, Shakespeare, and Jonson, as well as later poetic giants like Gerard Manley Hopkins, Emily Dickinson, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning, these verses create a "New Metaphysical" voice—bridging the past with the present.
Through evocative imagery and masterful language, The Role of the Moon contemplates divine encounters, human frailty, light and darkness, and the mysteries of existence. Perfect for readers who love classic poetry, literary meditations, spiritual poetry, and philosophical verse, this collection invites you to explore the profound beauty of poetic tradition in a fresh and modern way.
Perfect for readers of:
- Metaphysical Poets (Donne, Herbert, Marvell)
- Classic Poetry (Shakespeare, Milton, Jonson)
- Spiritual & Philosophical Poetry (Hopkins, Dickinson, Browning)
- Modern Poetic Reflection on Faith & Transcendence
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THE ROLE OF THE MOON (from "Metaphysicals IX")
If I were bolder I'd cry out
complain of your inattention
yet who am I to dispute? You know
me as well as you knew the hand
reaching for the fruit
"The Role of the Moon comprises D.S. Martin’s moving homage to the Metaphysicals, using metaphor as they did to grapple with supernal truths. Few beside Martin himself could, without the least pretension, undertake to emulate such grand predecessors. We readers are blessed that he did. " —Sydney Lea, Vermont Poet Laureate (2011–2015)
"The most distinctive gift of this collection is the sustained conversation with John Donne and the tradition he represents, producing a series of witty, poignant, searching interactions that bear many re-readings. A formidable achievement" —Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury (2002–2012)
"D. S. Martin’s The Role of the Moonis a conversation with the tradition of English-language Christian poetry—a strikingly creative one. Many are the books that play off of earlier poets, but few are those that, as here, achieve real originality and relevance. Notable for agilely shifting tones, phrase-making ability, and an inventive combination of freedom and formality, these are alert and profound, memorable, often quotable poems." —A. F. Moritz, Griffin Poetry Prize Winner
"The Role of the Moon comprises D.S. Martin’s moving homage to the Metaphysicals, using metaphor as they did to grapple with supernal truths. Almost arbitrarily, I’d call especial attention to “Prayer,” the uncanny opening poem of its fourth section, because the sequence synopsizes so much of what this luminous collection offers: it is at once humble and ambitious, vernacular and high-rhetorical. Most importantly, like the book at large, it epitomizes the example the poet means to follow. In a headnote he writes of the Metaphysicals that, because they “were deeply dedicated to their Christian faith ... much of their poetry expresses their wrestlings with God, and with their own weaknesses.” Few beside Martin himself could, without the least pretension, undertake to emulate such grand predecessors. We readers are blessed that Martin did." Sydney Lea, Vermont Poet Laureate (2011—2015)
"Don Martin writes as always with an impressive blend of unobtrusive technical skill and a wonderfully innovative imagination. But the most distinctive gift of this collection is the sustained conversation with John Donne and the tradition he represents, producing a series of witty, poignant, searching interactions that bear many re-readings. A formidable achievement." Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury (2002—2012)
"D. S. Martin’s The Role of the Moon is a conversation with the tradition of English-language Christian poetry—a strikingly creative one, because many are the books that play off of earlier poets, but few are those that, as here, achieve real originality and relevance. In vivid dialogue with Thomas Traherne, Gerard Hopkins, Christina Rossetti, Emily Dickinson, and many others, above all John Donne, Martin engages them in our world. Notable for agilely shifting tones, phrase-making ability, and an inventive combination of freedom and formality, these are alert and profound, memorable, often quotable poems. For instance, “New Life” is spurred by “The Windhover” (and also “God’s Grandeur” and “Spring” and even “No worst, there is none”) to say this: “Try your best to imagine the worst…/…the doom & dust passes, the fireweed / blueberries & grasses thrive the hopeless vacuum fills / with new desire…” And so for Martin, along with Hopkins, “there lives the dearest freshness deep down things”. A. F. Moritz, Griffin Poetry Prize Winner