Water destroys and revives.

Waves shred ears like nails on a chalkboard, soothe troubled souls like a true apothecary.

Water is a joyful friend. A ghost wearing rouge. A toxin, enrobed in gray.

Ill-begotten saloons lurk near its edges while quaint riverwalks with ice cream parlors are much-adored sites. Heart-shaped shells fill up baskets amidst grassy trinkets, and the beauty of untouched sand needs to be both preserved and enjoyed.

Whether ocean, river, or rain, in this breathtaking anthology, Coughran poignantly shows us the beastly, saving nature of water--with a Percy Bysshe Shelley-like ear and range.