Colors of Infinity

The Colors of Infinity is Donald Everett Axinn's fourth book of poems. In it, one sees the themes of the previous three books restated and transformed. As ever, Axinn pursues the theme of flight -- literal and imaginative flight -- often centering the poem in a narrative of self-exploration and discovery. Written in simple, sensuous language, Axinn's poetry has through the years developed into a fine instrument -- highly individual, characterized by sharp images and arresting turns of phrase. In The Colors of Infinity, Axinn stakes out the parameters of his life in poems that summon his parents and grandparents in their passages from Russia to America, that address his children, that explore the meaning of fatherhood and responsibility. Axinn's love of nature is apparent in these poems, as is his avocation as amateur pilot. There are also a generous number of love poems here, often centered in the metaphor of flight.