In Let Us Be Raucous, Lynne Handy calls out truths as she sees and remembers them. Childhood memories come to life in the first poems, including reactions to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Biographical events propel the next section—an apology, suicides, an inability to cope with loss. The poet revives in “Door,” and becomes militantly feminist, particularly in “Memo” and “Testimony.” She addresses national and world issues in “Mother Goose for Militant Children” and “Little Elephant,” then segues into verses about friendship, mysticism, and nature. “Dina, Warrior Child,” a short story, tells of a small girl waging war against Death. “Walls” describes the severing of a girl’s relationships with her mother and Jesus. In “Me Too,” an oilman tries seduction at a library fete.

Excerpt

Me Too

The driller darts from my teaspoon to my cake fork. Moistening his lips, he fondles each tine and tells me more about Kokopelli: he’s a piper and some people say his image can be seen on the full moon. The driller’s long shank presses against mine under the table. I move my leg. He finds it again. I kick his ankle. He makes no sound…