A Grain of Mustard Seed: New Poems

This is a book of new poems by May Sarton, all of which bear the imprint of a mature poet in a period of growth. The lyric poet whom Miss Sarton’s readers have come to know is here throughout, but the lyricism has a new toughness and resilience. The book pivots on two sections of poems grouped around the themes of politics and religion. It contains a major poem on violence, Invocation to Kali, as well as a section of poems about animals, and lyrics about old age and about children. In both ballad and free verse forms, a searching spirit responds to the world around her.