SEASON OF BLOOD: A SUITE OF POEMS. Beissel, Henry. Oakville (Ont.), Mosaic Press, c1984. 45pp, paper, $7.95, ISBN 0-88962-272-8. CIP Grades 11 and up Reviewed by Boh Kinczyk Volume 13 Number 5 1985 September "Listen! Was that the last cry of six-year old Rosita beheaded with a machete after they hacked off her feet in the Redeemer's land?" In Beissel's Season of Blood, images of mutilation collide with images of vernal celebration; an eastern Canadian burst of spring colours scenes of Latin American violence; rebirth plays the deadly erotic game of nudging death aside. Season of Blood is political, preachy, shrill, sometimes silly, but it is never dull. The strength and exuberance of Beissel's imagery moves you through the season of blood from "The Ides of March" and "April's Fool" to "May Song and Dance" with a breathtaking briskness. Each poem races ahead, stumbling often, but somehow always staggering to its feet. In one brief passage, typical I think, the incredibly awful "or is gold the sun's pool of tears wept over human folly? Oh if the stars could cry the heavens would turn into a salt sea!" is rescued by the lovely and thoughtful "four billion heartbeats drumming spring into consciousness, each one driven by a tiny flame flickering between fear and desire." Beissel's language excites, it springs with life, but Season of Blood never lets you forget you are listening to a sermon. Boh Kinczyk, Central Elgin C.I., St. Thomas, Ont.