Pluck

Rosnau often uses animal imagery to expose the primal innocence or ferocity of human nature, both of which particularly emerge in rural settings: "If you're a buck and I'm a lion, perhaps we're evenly matched to take on/ all of this. Come on, let's pretend we're wild together, fiercely protective/ of our brood." The complex emotions of strength, happiness, doubt and loss of self are all experienced through the lens of parenthood, with an underlying, constant reminder that "other people do this better, I'm sure."

"Pluck" also addresses struggles of the creative process and of finding meaning in a life dominated by domesticity: "I love a canned peach but, good Lord, if anyone mentions/ mine when I am dead, my time was not well-spent." Rosnau's words leave their mark, while at the same time wryly acknowledging the peculiar and untrustworthy juxtaposition of poetry with the everyday: "Whatever you do, don't listen/ to directives, especially not ones written/ in a lame kind of pseudo verse."