#Poetry #BookReviews

Published on by balroop singh

Poetry attracts me like a honey bee to flowers. Whenever I come across a poetry book, I binge read it. I will not say all of them turn out to be magnificent but I always review those that touch me in a special way. Here are three that I’ve read recently.

‘Pieces of Me’ by Maggie Watson gives voice to all those women who choose to stay in an abusive relationship with the hope of the light that lingers behind the dark clouds, without realizing how they keep empowering their controllers who intimidate with words, belittle them and smother their spirit, inflicting mortal wounds that continue to fester forever.

 Poignant yet inspirational, each poem in this book shares Watson’s raw emotions and how she emerged from an oppressive relationship that persistently whittled at her heart. She scoffs at the sacrifices we make for so-called love. The metaphorical dance of lament is a superb way to describe the pain that refuses to ease.

With outstanding imagery like “blisters on my feet,” “risen from the flames,” “in stagnant water,” “bruised apple,” the poet evokes an emotional response from the readers. The image of ‘Roots’ wrenched my heart away and ‘Excavate’ echoed hope, which grows stronger as resilience creeps in.

Written in an effortless style, the poems in this collection offer convincing advice to break the cage and soar into the sky before it is too late. Liberation from cruel circumstances is possible. Highly recommended with five stars.

‘Square Peg in a Round Hole’ by Robbie Cheadle and her son, Michael, is a fabulous amalgamation of syllabic poetry, free verse, art, photography, and micro fiction. It is divided into various sections – each one would touch some chord of your heart. 

Cheadle confesses that this collection is the story of her own restless soul, always looking for something new, trying to achieve balance. She feels like a wave, in constant motion. Her creativity shines through her poetry that explores various themes – from flora and fauna to the ocean of life.

From ‘Wild Hoopoe’s’ false impression of freedom to ‘Hold my Hand’, Cheadle’s poetry dwells on various aspects of life exuding positivity despite “the trauma of the past.” Even dark dreams are relegated to background when it comes to accepting life. ‘She Lives and Yet She’s Dead’ is a poignant and powerful comment on acceptance. ‘Frozen Flower’ by Michael stunned me with its metaphorical stature.    

Cheadle also shares her outstanding artwork in this book and I had to switch over to my laptop to look at it. The charcoal portrait of a leopard left me spellbound. Equally good is the watercolour painting of a black-maned lion but the drawing of a hippo with its mouth open is breathtaking!

This book is for the home library, to be savored slowly. One reading may not be enough. Five stars!  

Sun Haiku by Dawn Pisturino glorifies the sun in various ways; it emerges as a character with a positive force and the poet seems to be mesmerized by “his exotic and magnificent” presence amongst the clouds. Each haiku celebrates his beauty with breathtaking imagery:

rays of sun through clouds
open up gates of heaven… 

Pisturino paints a spectacular picture with the expressions “pale yellow radiance” of the sun and “raspberry sunset” that warms the bones, eases aching muscles and heals the hearts. 

“hot breath of the sun
turns green leaves into brown crisps” is the most creative description of the sun that transported me to the land of fantasy – such is the wondrous style of the poet! At the same time she mentions melanoma and calls his gaze “malevolent.” Such a rare combination of realism and imagination!

All the moods of the sun have been captured well –  soft as butter, a healer, a life giver, a masterful tyrant, a royal protector of earth etc. I loved each one of them. A fabulous collection.

I liked the bonus stories at the end of the book and my favorite one is Brother Sun, Sister Moon. Five stars!

Thank you. More reviews are coming soon.

Here is the Amazon link for my new poetry book.

For more poetry, hang out with  Hues Of Hope 

28 thoughts on “#Poetry #BookReviews”

  1. Hi Balroop, thank you for this beautiful review of my book and, in particular, your mention of Michael’s poem. I have read Maggie and Dawn’s books and their poetry is beautiful

  4. Wonderful reviews, Balroop. You do such a beautiful job with these. I enjoyed Robbie and Michael’s collection and you articulated why perfectly. I just finished Dawn’s Sun Haiku and owe her a review (today hopefully). And thank for introducing me to Maggie Watson and her book. It sounds emotionally powerful as well as inspirational. Congrats to all the authors on receiving your magic touch. Hugs.

    1. Thank you so much for such lovely words, Diana. Despite your busy schedule of promoting your book, you’ve taken time to come here. I am really thankful for that. Wishing you great success, my friend. 🤗

  11. Thank you so much for your wonderful review! I finished reading your beautiful collection, “Just One Goodbye,” and plan to post my review on my blog, Amazon, and Goodreads on Monday, January 27th. Thank you!

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