Beyond Chittering Cottage

Did you know that an orb weaver spider "eats" her web? Or that Smilax thorns come from a series of tumorous rhizomes connected underground? Rachel S. Donahue didn't either, until she started paying attention. After living the nomadic life of an overseas worker, Rachel found herself settled on one plot of land for more than five years with ample time for observation.

These poems reveal what she's seen beyond the spiders, birds, and vines—the deeper struggles and shimmering mystery of life on this corner of the earth.