The thirty-three poems in this slim volume are united by a simple belief – poetry should not be insular, but should at least attempt to speak to a wider world. On the Roofs of Zion rejects meaninglessness, nihilism, and relativism. At their core, its poems affirm that there is purpose in life, transcendent truth in reality, and meaning that a poet can and should articulate – for as Ty Bard says in the poem ‘Self-Defense,’ we are not merely “dying animals” but are also “orphans of sentience sent from the heavenlies.”
Ty Bard’s poems are traditionalist in approach, but not rigid in application. They are not overtly formal or strict in adherence to metrics. If the poetry of the traditionalist movement of the early 20th century is viewed as sculptural or architectural in form and meter, then the structure of Mr. Bard’s poetry is best described as organic. Rather than form imposed upon a poem, the form grows from the poem - a sprout germinating from a seed of poetic thought, diction, and rhythm. It is Mr. Bard’s assertion that the pattern which thus emerges from a poem is analogous to and reflective of the pattern which, when sought, appears from the multitudinous and seemingly random events of existence. Form and pattern in his poetry is therefore a non-verbal testimonial to the transcendent order within creation which is the thematic essence of On the Roofs of Zion.
Ty Bard is a graduate of the University of Georgia and a like-long resident of Georgia. 'Trekking to Ocmulgee' is the book one of the historical fantasy series, 'Spoken World.' Mr. Bard is currently at work on book two, 'Walkers between Worlds.'
This excerpt is from the beginning of the first verse of L'Chayim. The last line is a reference to string theory, the arcane theory in quantum physics in which particles are replaced by one-dimensional 'strings' whose vibrations correspond to various putative higher dimensions and create the 'observable' particles and forces in quantum physics. The theory is believed to present the possibility of a theory of everything in which quantum field theory and general relativity are unified - however, at least at present, the theory remains largely untestable and is thought my some to be a scientific equivalent to navel gazing.
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