Eli, Eli by Kathleen James is the poetic record of a mother's grief at the loss of her young child, an intimate insight into the emotional and spiritual crisis that this kind of loss entails, and a love song to the son who was lost so soon. It is at times disarmingly frank, at others deeply poignant, but it never condescends to be merely sentimental, maintaining throughout a fierce and vulnerable strength. It is a poetry where many readers will find their own griefs reflected, and where they may perhaps find also the determination to endure through sorrow into hope.