<div> <P style="MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpFirst>In <I>The Black Ocean</I>, poet Brian Barker attempts to make sense of some of the darkest chapters in history while peering forward to what lies ahead as the world totters in the wake of human complacence. Unveiled here are ruminations on human torture, the Chernobyl disaster, the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and genocide against Native Americans. The ghosts of Lincoln, Poe, and Billie Holiday manifest from pages laden with grim prophecies and catastrophes both real and imagined. These hauntingly intense documentary poems reflect on the past in an attempt to approach it with more clarity and understanding, while offering blistering insight into the state of the world today. Barker touches upon the power of manipulation and class oppression; the depths of fear and the struggle for social justice; and reveals how failure to act—on the parts of both politicians and everyday citizens—can have the most devastating effects of all.</p> <P style="MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>Throughout the volume looms the specter of the black ocean itself, a powerful metaphor for all our collective longings and despair, as we turn to face a menacing and uncertain future.</P> <P style="MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle><B>Lullaby for the Last Night on Earth</B></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>When at last we whisper, <I>so long, so lonesome,</I></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>and watch our house on the horizon</P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>go down like a gasping zeppelin of bricks,</P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>we'll turn, holding hands,</P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>and walk the train tracks to the sea . . . </p> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>So sing me that song where a mountain falls</p> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>in love with an octopus, and one thousand fireflies</p> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>ricochet around their heads,</P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>and I'll dream we're dancing in the kitchen one last time,</p> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>swaying, the window a waystation</p> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>of flaming leaves, the dogs shimmying</p> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>about our legs,</P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle>                            dragging their golden capes of rain . . .</P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle><I> </I></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle><I>O my critter, my thistle, gal-o-my-dreams,</I></P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: auto auto 0pt" class=MsoNormalCxSpMiddle> </P> <P style="LINE-HEIGHT: 115%; MARGIN: au