In her debut collection of poetry, Genevieve Lehr shows a penchant for lyrical rhythm and beautiful imagery. Yet most of the poems are not innovative enough to warrant a second glance, despite their range of themes and their flashes of talent. While these poems are technically sound, there is little to set them apart from the hundreds of other debut collections.

Lehr too often relies on the reader’s intuition to decipher her cryptic verse. Poetry doesn’t have to be blunt, but its meaning must ultimately become clear. Much of Lehr’s work swims into murky waters and could be interpreted in a dozen different ways. Perhaps that is her intention, but playing the game of “Guess Lehr’s Message” can get tiring. Often, two images will collide unexpectedly, bringing to mind chains of disconnected thought that should have been edited before reaching the page. In “Host,” Lehr explores ideas of faith and pain and then suddenly ends with “My son will never come home.” This is the kind of writing that makes readers shake their heads and shrug their shoulders.

Where Lehr excels is in her P.K. Page-like detail that peppers the stronger pieces in The Sorrowing House. She watches children run, “their faces wreathes,/their bodies lupines and irises/that bow with the solemnity of ushers.” Lehr captures those moments of significance in an interesting way, but the collection does not do her talent justice. It is more of a preview of what Lehr can accomplish in her nascent poetic career.