Spells for Not Dying Again

the long version

With the glyphs of ancient Egypt shadowing the voice and temperament of a fin de siecle Californian, this remarkable poet has written a sequence of poems which are exactly what the title indicates, enchantments by which we avert the re-living of experiences too painful to keep contemplating. Ironically, of course, it is only by such contemplation that these "spells" achieve their great potency. Those who read and re-read these poems (few would read them just once) must find themselves, each time, purged in spirit as the rituals from the Book of the Dead effected their catharsis on Diana O'Hehir's ancient precursors.