From evolution expressed in its own Genesis-like tones, to climate concerns expressed in prophet’s verse, to an apocalyptic vision which proclaims, “the breath of love remains,” Bob Ambrose captures us with his awe, reverence and compassion for Mother Earth and her creatures. His science is sound, his reverence real and his poetry beautiful – a book of Psalms and Prophecy for a 21st century faith.
– Tom Downing, retired UMC minister, former Director of Academic Computing at Southern Methodist University, and author of the Sci-Fi series Alien Incarnations.
Between Birdsong and Boulder is among the special places where knowledge of science and the deep well of mystery and purpose meet. Scientist/poet Bob Ambrose follows the unfolding of Creation through its billions of years, introducing us to the ages of development while reminding us that a greater purpose guides the Work ahead. Ambrose’ efforts are a marvel to read and ponder. His words call us to join the story of Gaia and invite us to “go and see” some new place on this amazing planet we call home.
– David Wasserman, retired PC (USA) minister and author most recently of Listen More, Laugh Often, Love Always; and Riding the Blue Marble
“Yes, yes, yes!” I’m an old-timer who relaxes with the classical poetry of rhyme and meter. Yet Between Birdsong and Boulder has me sitting forward in my lift chair as Bob Ambrose explains the relation of me, a mere mote, to the incomprehensible vastness of the universe.
– Dac Crossley, ecologist, coauthor of Fundamentals of Soil Ecology
If the meaning and pointlessness of existence cycling through spacetime can be captured in verse for creatures who long to know, herein is where they lie. This little book, soulfully constructed in fuzzy-set word art, is a work of uncommon scope. It quietly but authoritatively nudges the reader toward feeling the Universe unfolding – not cerebrally from conscious engagement, but from the deeper recesses of unconscious function. It masterfully engages these to evoke awe, wonderment, and a sense of profound inconsequential and uncaring aloneness on a planet teeming with life and an infinitude of miracles. This is a gentle work, deeply engaging, puzzling, beautiful, and somehow monumental.
– Bernard C. Patten, ecologist, Professor Emeritus in the University of Georgia Odum School of Ecology
Through the eyes of Gaia, the Ancient Greek personification of Mother Earth, Ambrose takes the reader on a journey that’s bounds could not possibly be any wider, from the beginning of the whole thing, through the eons, the ages and the timid beginnings of life on Earth, to the present, where it all hangs in the balance. He imagines Gaia as a living entity, an unimaginably complex system of interconnected organic and inorganic processes that serves something well beyond human. … His book is a short read, but sublimely affecting, and as you dig deeper into it you begin to catch on to a sort of rhythm, entranced not as much by the words as in the space between them … Awe, reverence and thanks are the operative words when it comes to Birdsong and Boulder, allowing the reader’s mind to see, if briefly, time as it is seen by Gaia, where the creation of boulders become as ephemeral as birdsong. I don’t believe it’s presumptuous to say that the ideal way to experience Birdsong and Boulder is surrounded by any sort of humming, flying creatures or small ground mammals, while digging your bare feet contently into cool, native ground cover.
– excerpted from a review by Patrick Barry in the April 17, 2024 ‘Green Issue’ of the Flagpole
Between Birdsong and Boulder – Poems on the Life of Gaia 