“Marian Haddad’s unique poetic voice speaks to me personally because it captures so many elements that are very dear to me: the desert Southwest, the crucible of family, health and its absence, the mysteries of the body, and borders both metaphorical and real. This is a wonderful collection that evokes all the senses and it lingers on after you have read the last poem.”
—Abraham Verghese, author of My Own Country and The Tennis Partner

“Marian Haddad writes with earthy elegance. Her poems are honest, striking, potently alive. The richly mixed gravitational pulls—she was born of an immigrant Syrian family and raised in El Paso in the confluence of Texas, Mexico and New Mexico—create a savory brew of elements and images. ‘Take care of your body,’ an ailing relative urges his family. These tender/powerful poems urge us all, take care of your land and love for one another. They are your blessing and your pain. Here is a magnetic voice charged like a lightning sky over desert mountains.”
—Naomi Shihab Nye, poet, essayist, anthologist