How do we reconcile with the uncontrollable calamities of life? What is our place in the ever-changing rhythm of nature, which burns and blots away species from the earth beneath our feet in unpredictable patterns? The Appendectomy Grin by Charles Rafferty offers a sobering view of our modern world, or more specifically, the ways in which it seems intent on destroying itself. Meditative yet witty, this collection of prose poetry leaves no leaf unturned when discussing the willful separation of humans from nature and our eternal demand that the natural world make space for us. 

I appreciated Charles Rafferty’s candid view of the state of our world. Many people are quick to turn a blind eye to the humanitarian and environmental crises happening around us. Rafferty presents these issues to his readers honestly, softening the blows with his curious musings on the dichotomies of life.  In the same moment that an irreversible calamity is taking place, one person is dramatically affected by a fleeting inconvenience. Rafferty writes, “To have strong feelings about things that don’t matter – it’s an American luxury. The ice caps are converting into cities that will drown, but earlier today, I strained my back rearranging the room, to show off our new piano.”

Above all, Charles Rafferty reminds us of our place in nature, which does not abide by the laws of Man. One of Rafferty’s musings I resonated with was how life can simultaneously be beautiful and brutal, meditating on the way “One thing is always attaching to the next, reminding [him] of tapeworms, of hermit crabs that curl into the dead and carry them.” I think about this often – the way that life embraces death and the many creatures that came before me, which have returned to the very earth I stand on. To use Rafferty’s words, “We carry the dead that carry what we need, and the snap that holds it all is golden.” The world makes space for us for such a fleeting moment, and all we can do is experience that moment before it’s time to let others have their chance.  

To put it simply, this collection moved me. Deeply honest, Rafferty reminds us that as humans, we must learn how to survive in this chaotic modern world – to learn all there is to learn and love all there is to love, despite the hardships we and others face. Calamities will come and go. Species will wink out like stars in the night sky. The Earth will warm and freeze in ways we cannot comprehend, because it’s simply out of our scope of existence. All we can do as individuals is experience this fleeting life – for all its imperfections – and try to leave the world better than we found it. To use Rafferty’s words, “There’s a reason the landscape dips and crumbles and falls to the ankle with swamp. We’ve learned to walk slowly through it, to use a staff when crossing the river – each of us believing that his daughter will forgive him, that he’ll somehow keep his footing as the Earth rolls out and away.”  

If you’re looking for a deeply honest and meditative take on the intersection of humans and the natural world, be sure to read The Appendectomy Grin by Charles Rafferty. You can find this collection on our website, boaeditions.org!