Overview
"True to the title, the poems in Mixed Messages present a continual shifting between letting go and holding too tightly, between longing for the past and looking out toward the inevitable end of life that awaits us all. Often humorous and ironic, these are poems about movement while standing still, about love when the heart is indifferent. Cuetara's poems are thoughtful and remind us there is always more than one perspective to consider." Rodger LeGrand, Studies for a Self Portrait"Cuetara's book shows us life is all "Mixed Messages." The poems are nostalgic reliving love, loss, childhood, and immortality. Let's cling to sweet / memories through / the years and if / we can't do that/ let's go back / and never meet. His poetry comes to terms with life and death. I see a shady figure/ through the glass / and ride over to / introduce myself. This is beautifully written with stunning images. Cuetara takes us on a trip of daily life, where we all are on a ride, holding on." Gloria Mindock, Cervena Barva Press, author of I Wish Francisco Franco Would Love Me."Spare prose poems-at once dreamlike and sharply observed-sketch unique experiences, moments in a life on the edge of events, and fill this volume like gumballs in a machine. Whether taken in sequence, or by random fate, these poems open a private window, just for the reader." Christopher Reilley, One Night Stanzas and Breathing for Clouds
