The Key: Lady Grizzly & Sir Charles Otter

?These poems are raw, brave, and sometimes hilarious. Ice Johnson searches the hidden rooms of family history with a determined eye. From nuns to nightmares to cheesecake, she traces with great compassion the debris of haunted relationships.?? LENI ZUMAS ?This collection by Ice is a wonderful expression of her deep calm & resolve. Her realistic optimism. It?s unsettling & consoling, hard & soft, complicated & simple. She has not just survived but triumphed against all odds. 'Alone in the dark,' she whispers, 'is a dark place,' and 'tomorrow,' she adds, 'is so far away.' 'But you are the only one I will ever love,' she reveals, 'and I still want to dance with you.' Note the word 'still' and all it says & doesn?t say. 'Cuddled in the pit of your arm / I?m hiding from the day.' Hiding in plain sight, where she and her evocative, lovely poems belong.?? ANGELO VERGA ?Ice is anything but cold. These confessions of unashamed love, expressed frankly and directly, are warm enough to heat a city. In this age of ironic commentary on dreadful topics, it is refreshing to read these ardently unironic expressions of the author?s humanity.?? BARRY WALLENSTEIN