Having Lived

Joseph Murphy’s Having Lived leads us quietly through a land of his memories, giving us glimpses of family, friends, streets, towns, ships, and events large and small that have shaped his life. The journey starts early in his life, when “Success seemed inevitable . . . every street Easy Street,” closing the collection with a poem noting that had he spent years unable to write, “but whatever was broken / has healed.” We meet five generations of his family. We hear their stories, how they lived, how they loved, how they suffered. In “Your Footprints” he retraces the life of a family patriarch, an uncle to whom he says, “I’m the age you were then: . . . no less burdened; no better off . . . It’s no surprise / to find your footprints / at my feet.” No fireworks, no explosions, just quiet, well-written, accessible poetry. A fine odyssey.