By Ellen Lord
I met Ronnie Ferguson after a Yooper Poetry reading at the Peter White Library in Marquette, Michigan. His kindness and his humor were palpable. I sensed a little ‘darkness’….and knew I had to have his new chapbook.
When I Was a Fire is a powder keg of emotion. Just eleven poems. Free verse. Sparse lines. Very little punctuation. Brilliant use of ‘white space’. Abrupt twists and turns as the poet navigates a young man’s journey surviving an abusive father. Gut-wrenching honesty and, so many conflicting emotions. Themes of rage, redemption and mercy permeate these poems.
The ‘bad boy’ in this work is endearing but I also love how Ferguson portrays girls and women. I especially like the lines in the first poem ( PEE) where a teacher, Miss J., slips into an ‘accidental daydream’ while dealing with ruffians in her classroom:
there she was on the couch
in her bra and underwear
a fan blowing back and forth across her
like a little helper
who’d feed her grapes
on command
there she was laughing
like a girl
who’d never endured a period
or an outbreak of zits
there she was
shoveling popcorn into her mouth
a glorious
uninterrupted weekend
of Seinfeld reruns
No one writes like Ronnie Ferguson. Intimate, occasionally chilling and a bit outrageous, these poems are profoundly relatable. I recommend When I Was a Fire for anyone who loves good poetry but, as a behavioral health therapist, it would also be an excellent tool to use in group therapy for men.
Ellen Lord, Poet. ellenlordauthor.com