Thirteen Moons and a Day: Poems on Seasons Relived Paperback – March 20, 2026

The poems of Bob Ambrose take me to the same place as the poems of Mary Oliver — an embedded presence in the natural world, over and over again, sometimes fierce, sometimes gentle, always evoking a second reading and then a third. A necessity for your bedside table or your backpack as you wander about. His gift is a blessing.—Ursula W. Goodenough, Professor Emerita, Biology and author, The Sacred Depths of NatureAmbrose’s poetry is a balm for my soul. Small things — easily overlooked but immense in exquisite beauty or loss — spring into sharp focus in the poet’s compassionate attention. Thirteen Moons and a Day delivers me into grounded mindfulness, beauty, delight, solastalgia, reverence, and wonder.—JD Stillwater, Science Ambassador in the science-and-religion dialogueThirteen Moons and a Dayis a beautiful immersion in our natural world, but a contemporary one with its asphalt, cameras and atomic clocks. A breathtaking outdoor excursion; a walk of special perception: equal in reverence for nature and life — a life well-lived.—Jason D. Keune, MD, General Surgeon, Board Member, the Religious Naturalist Association, and Council Member, the Institute of Religion in an Age of ScienceAn inveterate observer of the natural world, Bob Ambrose in Thirteen Moons and a Daypresents a loving, lyrical response to the seasons of that world and of our lives. The colors and life of the countryside are recorded with all humility (“I did not earn this day”) and “a fleeting sweetness.” Though we possess “soul[s] of dust and wind-borne chaff,” we are called away from screen and book to moments of transcendence in these often achingly beautiful poems. Ambrose describes with amazing insight the feelings most of us have experienced. Indeed, don’t we all know “The Ache at the Edge of Autumn.” Thirteen Moons and a Day is a collection to enjoy and savor. —Sarah Gordon, Professor Emerita, English and author, Distances, The Lost Thing, and Six White Horses Read more