As far as the light will carry

Ryan Ragan
Wed, 29 Apr 2026 13:46:45 PDT

The following poems are an exploration of memory and the limitations of distance and as it relates to the illumination of internal and external spaces. The metaphor of light is a repeated trope employed lyrically here to both root the content of the collection as a whole in the idea of "bringing things into the light," and the trope is also used to notion toward the spiritual aspects of light as it relates to Scriptural ideologies. While each poem is written to stand alone within its own context, the loose narrative of the collection as a whole is intended to allow the reader to connect one poem to another through repeated images, similar revelations, emotions, form and content. At its core, this collection borders on the surrealistic, yet juxtaposes imaginative situations with real-life experiences or personas to compliment difficult or seemingly out-of-place imagery or circumstances.