Permafrost : Finishing Line Press : 9798888382370 : 16 Jun 2023 : Gary V. Powell's Permafrost is a rich and sensual meditation on aging, parenting, romantic love, and the inexorable passage of time. From the lawn's first cut in spring to its final cut in fall, the poet urges readers to take nothing for granted, "neither the greening of/my glowing embers maple/nor the thorn from old-world rose." In poems written for a son who has chosen a high-risk combat role in the military, Powell both admires the boy's courage while fearing for his safety, noting that: "Lean as blades forged in flame/Army Airborne Rangers/ prefer heat to cold/would rather burn than freeze." Love for a spouse is celebrated not with flowers and Hallmark cards but in the preparation of Tuesday tacos: "I work from scratch, kneading masa/ for tortillas like I needed your breasts/the first time we lay together/ flesh to flesh, tequila to margarita." In the eponymous poem. geologic time is compared to the forty years since