Criminal Mountains

9780919897915

0919897916

John O'Neill's fourth book of poetry, Criminal Mountains, describes a journey of discovery in time, in place, and in the mind. Starting with a sojourn in the Rocky Mountains, where the poet tries to entice a women into a love affair, O'Neill limns his world with harsh honesty. With sharp comparisons and painterly descriptions, he makes clear the futility of the softer emotions from the outset. O'Neill shapes his poems from the very landscape's animosity and rejection, even outright attack: the rough terrain, the ice and extreme cold, the bear attacks and the nightmares that follow the attacks. Then the poet is scalled away from the mountains to attend the deathbed of his mother. In the process of attending and burying his parent, the author does not stop at describing his grief and pain, but examines himself and his family members' state of mind and the role they play in one another's living and dying. Here O'Neill's muscular style is softened by pain, loneliness, and guilt, but never does he lose the sharp clarity of honesty. The book comes full circle in the last poem when O'Neill faces the impossibility of gaining the love of the woman he targeted at the beginning of the book, extending his ruthless self-examination and coming to the conclusion that ultimately happiness is an ideal, not a reality.