In this poetry collection, readers discover a careful embracing of both long and short forms. They also discover an attentive and meticulous speaker who observes the world around them with grace, gentleness, and understanding. Some poems celebrate human interactions. Others celebrate the mystique of the spirit. The dream world also plays a significant part in many of these verses, and these pieces give the collection an otherworldly tone. The speaker lives in awe and wonder at the world, and their articulations of that world encourage readers to live fully and seek places where the “energy is running wild.” Other poems explore the fine lines existing between life and death and how one leads to the other “all too soon, all too fast.” Thus, readers discover a book that not only performs a balancing act within itself but encourages one to live a balanced life in order to live fully.
The poems in this collection utilize various forms, such as the pantoum. Other poems are written in free verse. Therefore, the book becomes an exploration of how poetic form and subject matter should meet and meld, working together to form the strongest poem possible. This work’s ultimate power, however, lies in its personal, almost confessional, intimacy. From the personification of a violin to the empathetic observation of an animal meeting its final moments in a slaughterhouse, these poems quietly address a variety of cultural, personal, and societal issues. The speaker’s words come forth like a friendly conversation, making the poems accessible to readers of all backgrounds. In this book, the world and all its inhabitants and creations are treated with a beautiful respect that is very difficult to find elsewhere.
I am honored and humbled to share this review for many of new readers who are new to my writing. The reviewer is an author, poet and teaches English as a Professor. she has seen the many styles of my writing, and my spiritual tones. I have always tried to speak clearly and directly in my poems. Teaching spirituality in medicine to medical students is no accident but a calling to bring this mind body connection together. I hope to hear from more readers after they buy and read the book of poems. Have a wonderful summer and keep cool!
At the “I Can Do It” Hay House, Phoenix, AZ Conference, March 2024
