The Country I Remember

Mason's book is divided into two sections: 1 which contains the long narrative title poem and the 2nd which contains a handful of his other poems (including "Song of the Powers"). I think he might have done better to put "The Country I Remember" after the shorter poems. "The Country I Remember" was such a great poem, that the shorter poems (except "Song of the Powers") couldn't match up to. "The Country I Remember" is divided into twelve sections, each section told by an alternating point-of-view, between Lt. Mitchell, a Civil War veteran, and his daughter, both at the end of their lives. Mason's skill at the narrative poem is phenomenal. You forget that you are reading a 'long' poem because the story keeps the reader moving forward. Mason writes in both voices extremely well, and at no time are the two distinct and separate voices confused. For people who ask the question as to why there should be narrative poetry, this poem is the answer.