examination of the natural world, poems in Mountain Offerings move from a youthful voice to a more experienced one, showing a coming-of-age in partnership, parenthood, loss, and the development of independence and self-awareness. The simplicity, beauty, and peace of the outdoors provides an ideal vehicle through which this poet explores complex human emotions. In "January in Vermont," Allen writes:

The stars always shine brightest

on the coldest of days,

a reward just for making it.

Mountain Offerings is accessible, honest, poignant, and-rooted in nature and the natural world-earthly.