The poems in this humane collection are hard and beautiful. They are hard, because the locals here are marginalized and somewhat lost, yet beautiful because they live with hope, and because each poem in this heartfelt book is accompanied by singing. Behind this cast of characters is the poet himself, a living spirit, capturing the human voice, swinging back and forth like the symbol evoked by the title of this honest and necessary collection. This is at once a portrait and a vision rendere...

"There are a few books of poetry that can change, if not your life, your way of living on this earth, make you more aware of and more grateful for what is sacred, more determined to protect what is left of that sacredness. This book is one of them. “The whole time,” Eric writes, “I was in conversation with God.” And I believe it. This is a holy book, full of love, rage, and hope." —Mary Ann Taylor-Hall