This book is a chest of jewels disguised as words: jewels of honesty and discernment, of clear vision and priceless bonds of love. As always, Margaret Randall sees both above and beyond . and deeply into. She analyzes and exposes hatred, blindly superficial patriotism, ecological irresponsibility, sexism, and colonialism, while simultaneously shining light on the beauty of life. She wonders "if there is time to stitch a habitat that can survive" and praises "words that must climb the shoulders of other words to be heard, speak softly but carry courage." She fervently desires to "move forward and back simultaneously/ toward a place of healing and memory,/ of ancient peoples/ and canyons whose wind was one with human breath." Finally, she gazes into a desperate future, where "tiny human specks/ almost lost in their arrogant rebuttal/ that would not give me back my name" review the disastrous outcome of our actions, lost in denial. Aztec philosophers and poets often repeated their belief that "the ultimate truth is poetry.

" They could have been presciently referring to Randall. This Honest Land encourages the reader to reclaim power, as well as humanity, and to appreciate the beauty and the brilliance of ecofeminism. "I might have wanted to be a boy, /possess the significant Y / allowing me to skip over the next questions/ and claim my privilege./ But from the beginning/ I loved my female self,/ saw magic and possibility . I might have yearned for the power./ but didn't because I know/ power exists in relationship to struggle." This book is a reclaiming of power in relationship to struggle, in defiance of repression and dehumanization, defiance of the simplistic misperception of aging and death and distance and anything that sees us as less than being beautifully, miraculously alive.