“How old is youth
How young is age
How false is truth
How quiet rage?”

Second Thoughts is Elise Goldsmith’s most recent collection of poetry. Her spare, elliptical verse gives rare insight into the daytime shadows and night-time illuminations of a woman writer in her aging years. Whether writing about Edith Piaf, the Persian Gulf War, or the rewards and difficulties of marriage, Goldsmith is always asking us to look more deeply, and more kindly. Delicate, ironic, and gently humourous, these poems touch the heart with their musings on war, old age, social justice, and the enduring power of love.

The book is also available on cassette, read by the author, who has for many years read for the CNIB.