"Lalita Noronha is a rare creature, someone who feels comfortable among the conflicting demands of art and science. In the Mustard Seed she fulfills the promise of poems on scientific themes, especially in the astonishing "Beyond the Cenozoic Era," ekphrastic poems on art and artists, and tender love poems. "The Python," one of the most amazing poems in this collection, beautifully demonstrates the power of biological description and begs to be compared to animalistic poems by Ted Hughes and Rainer Maria Rilke. "What I Ask For" is a beautiful meditative poem that draws from her...