What is poetry? According to dictionary.com, poetry is the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts. I had to read poetry when I was in school. To be honest, I never thought much of it except for two poems by Edgar Allan Poe: “The Raven” and “Annabel Lee.”
There are forty-five poems in this book that cover all aspects of life, and each one digs deep into the emotional realm. Some of them I liked and some I didn’t. The following poems were my favorites.
“The Last Drop Is Where The Answers Are” – The title of this one says it all.
“Poetry Assassin” – The violence performed on different types of poetry made me laugh. For someone who isn’t wild about poetry to begin with, this poem tickled my funny bone.
“Timeless Banquet” – One will be most satisfied with what one is in dire need of.
“Grand Mirage” – This one speaks to me about how we’ve all been deceived at various times throughout our lives.
I was sent a copy of this book by the author in exchange for an honest review. I was honest with him and let him know that I don’t normally read poetry, but I was willing to expand my horizons a bit if he still wanted my opinion. So even if you’re not a fan of poetry, you should find at least a handful, if not more, of these poems that speak to you. If you would like to buy a copy of this book, I’ve provided an Amazon link below.
Amazon link: Butterflies Lost Within the Crooked Moonlight
Recommended Articles:
The Life and Times of Richard Musto – a Review
What Inspired Me to Write Poetry – Guest Post by Joe Lamport
Favorite Lines:
Below are my favorite lines from the poems, each one from a different poem.
The last drop is where
the answers are.
Squeeze the nectar
Taste the juice.
I strangled a rondeau today,
shot a sonnet,
hung haikus,
and drowned a sestina in the sink.
Personally, I despise the thought of cauliflower,
But this a famished vegan might readily devour.
I’ve been misled by curmudgeons,
scoundrels and priests. I’ve been
broken in half like a wishbone and
Sent home where I do not belong.
New Words Learned:
doggerel – (of verse) comic or burlesque, and usually loose or irregular in measure.
elegy – a mournful, melancholy, or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.
fuliginous – sooty; smoky
rondeau – a short poem of fixed form, consisting of 13 or 10 lines on two rhymes and having the opening words or phrase used in two places as an unrhymed refrain
senryu – an unrhymed Japanese verse consisting of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables (5, 7, 5) or 17 syllables in all. Senryu is usually written in the present tense and only references to some aspect of human nature or emotions.
sestina – a poem of six six-line stanzas and a three-line envoy, originally without rhyme, in which each stanza repeats the end words of the lines of the first stanza, but in a different order, the envoy using the six words again, three in the middle of the lines and three at the end.
terza rima – a rhyming verse stanza form that consists of an interlocking three-line rhyme scheme. It was first used by the Italian poet Dante Alighieri.
villanelle – a short poem of fixed form, written in tercets, usually five in number, followed by a final quatrain, all being based on two rhymes.
About the Author:
Matt Nagin is an author, educator, actor, filmmaker, and standup comedian. He has been published in Writer’s Digest, The New York Post, Mic.com, The Humor Times, The Higgs-Weldon, Grain Magazine, Arsenic Lobster, Spillway, Dash, Antigonish Review, and many, many more. His first book of poetry (Butterflies Lost Within The Crooked Moonlight) was released in 2017.
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