Climacteric

Climactericnoun1. a critical period or event.”the first major climacteric in twenty-first-century poetry”2. the period of life when fertility and sexual activity are in decline; (in women) menopause.”most women do not experience significant psychological problems at the climacteric””our hair/is coming out in clumps; we are sweeping it from corners, from beneath the bed, /gathering it into our sleepless nest”How can we love ourselves at the climacteric of our lives; of the planet? Jo Bratten’s debut poetry chapbook bubbles with anger and guilt at the failures of both spirit and body and a coming to terms with loss, for the natural passing of loved ones, and the unnatural passing of our planet’s ecosystems. These poems offer solace: you are not alone – “In the fractured dark we’re all doomscrolling/before dawn, lit up like Caravaggios.” They offer the simplest kind of love: the joy that can be found within nature.