Angelika Rose's poems, as with all good haiku, include nothing extraneous, we are offered simple images and the space to contemplate their effect. We are challenged to face darkness (and, by implication, death) without becoming caught up in our existential anxieties about life. A haiku intends two possible effects: a spiritual realisation, and/or a reminder of our human condition. In this fine collection, Angelika Rose offers us the opportunity to experience both.