"Don't judge a book by its cover."

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” But why not? The cover art from City Eclogue perfectly depicts the collection of poems within. The image on the front of the book is unique, purposeful, chaotic, and colorful. It gives little glimpses into a busy city block. In City Eclogue, Roberson seems to tell us a story in his own unique, purposeful, chaotic, and colorful way. In a matter of 120 pages, City Eclogue evokes an image of the bedlam of city life.  

Roberson paints vivid pictures with his words, making the reader feel like he or she has stepped into another world: “dirt mouth curse and graffiti,” “the street as it crested the hill,/the buildings on each side   the railings/of a moon bridge.” With each of his poems, Roberson introduces yet another aspect of city living. From the trash heaps to the transportation, from the buildings to the small natural oases, he touches on it all.

To capture the image, Roberson completes the impression of the city by appealing to the senses. He describes the running of an engine, “as noise in/an otherwise harmonious/system/the blues.” Or the quiet as, “simple quiet not the same as no birds sing,/definitely not the dead of no birds sing…a not quite here running/sound underground, sidewalk’s grate vibrationless.” The mass of humans at a train station are compared to the restlessness of gulls. The ever-changing train schedules portrayed as “a flock of tin birds taking off.” Even the simplest of Roberson’s details, forces his readers to look at the world in a new and distinctive way.