When Breath Was Drink for Ghosts is a luminous and haunting collection of poetry that moves effortlessly through the landscapes of the soul. Peter Strayer crafts verse that is both deeply personal and universally resonant, exploring themes of love, loss, faith, and the quiet beauty of ordinary moments. This collection of 200 poems weaves together the profound and the pastoral, the mystical and the immediate, drawing from spiritual, philosophical, and poetic traditions to offer something both timeless and urgent. When Breath Was Drink for Ghosts will resonate with readers who find solace in poetry that does not flinch from the realities of pain, yet still reaches for beauty. Lovers of classic and contemporary verse alike will appreciate Strayer's blend of accessibility and complexity, his ability to weave the personal with the universal. Those drawn to the works of Rainer Maria Rilke, T.S. Eliot, or Gerard Manley Hopkins will find a kindred spirit in these pages. Likewise, readers with a contemplative nature—those who wrestle with questions of faith, loss, and the passage of time—will discover in this collection a voice that speaks to their own inner journey. Whether for the seasoned poetry reader or someone simply seeking words that resonate in a noisy world, *When Breath Was Drink for Ghosts* offers a space to linger, reflect, and remember what it means to feel deeply. Echoing the depth of poets past while remaining unmistakably contemporary, Strayer's work reminds us why poetry remains essential—why, in a fractured age, we still turn to words to heal, to illuminate, and to remind us of what it means to be alive. When Breath Was Drink for Ghosts is more than a book; it is an encounter, a conversation, a mirror held up to the reader's own heart.