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.
Does poetry have to rhyme? No, it does not. Some people, my husband included, doesn’t believe it is a poem unless it rhymes or has a particular structure. But free-verse poetry has been around for hundreds of years. Free-verse poetry is free from the limitations of regular meter or rhythm; it does not rhyme with fixed forms. However, it still allows poets to use alliteration, rhyme, cadences, and rhythms to get the effects that they consider are suitable for the piece. “Fog” by Carl Sandburg is a great example of a fre- verse poem.
To celebrate National Poetry Month (April), I read Feast of Sapphires by Matt Nagin to review. How can you celebrate this month? Poets.org lists 30 things you can do to celebrate this month.
Seventy-eight poems are in Feast of Sapphires. I’m not a huge fan of poetry, but the more of it I read, the more it appeals to me. Was the poetry in this book pleasing to me? Did it give me imaginative or elevated thoughts? Yes, some of the poems were pleasing to me, and they all gave me imaginative thoughts. Pictures popped into my mind as I read each one. They gave me deeper insight into previously formed thoughts.
Below are my favorite poems from this book.
“Hunter Among Shadow” – When I read the first lines of this poem, it created a picture from The Lion King in my mind. I could see Mufasa—I know, Mufasa is a lion not a tiger—sitting on the edge of a cliff surveying his domain. (The first lines of this poem is the first selection under “Favorite Lines.”)
“Agonies & Bliss” – Agonies, regrets, mistakes, sadness. We’ve all been there. Feelings abound in the words of this poem.
“Stay Woke” – Woke is a political term of African-American origin that refers to a perceived awareness of issues concerning social justice and racial justice. It is derived from the African-American Vernacular English expression “stay woke,” whose grammatical aspect refers to a continuing awareness of these issues.
The author touches on a popular expression among some today. This is his reaction to someone telling him to “stay woke.” I couldn’t have said it better.
“Regret” – Some things we can wait on. Some things we can forgive. But what is the one thing you will regret never doing? Stop wasting time and do it.
“Sick on Christmas” – It sucks to be sick, especially on a holiday. The entire world should stop its celebrations and take notice, at least that is what you feel like through all the anguish.
I’ve never been so sick on a holiday that I remember it, but I do always think of my mom’s death when Christmas rolls around. She didn’t die on Christmas, but she breathed her last four days after. In my world, life stopped for a time. The world kept going on though. In my eight-year-old mind, that was a hard thing to understand.
“Weekend Getaway” – In “Favorite Lines,” the last selection is the first part of this poem. I have this same vivid imagination, but mine is also at work when I’m home and hear strange noises.
“Giants In My Underwear” – Have you ever dreamed that you went to school in your underwear, or worse, naked? The poor kid in this poem is having a terrible time.
“When Death Arrives Will I Be Singing” – Are you scared of death?
I was sent this book of poems in exchange for an honest review. Several of the poems in this book brought me enjoyment, so even if you don’t particularly like poetry, you are sure to find some favorites among these. If you are a lover of poetry, you’ll really enjoy what’s inside this book.
Amazon Link: Feast of Sapphires
Recommended Article – Butterflies Lost Within the Crooked Moonlight – a Review
Favorite Lines:
Each of the below passages is from a different poem.
I go out and collect the light like a tiger on the precipice. Alone with the agonies rising up from a wounded gut and splashed across a sea of tempestuous memories— the regret making me feel half of what I once was.
I walk off and he follows—his woke ass still trying to recruit me—so woke he doesn't know when enough is enough. Submit those silly creations— hurry—an upcoming deadline— drop it off— dump it on us— act like you’ve got a spine.
Alone in an eerie house, buried in the woods; I tell myself to remain calm, but every creak my feet make I jump in terror and every time I pass a window or a mirror I panic, think intruder, know he must be waiting for me, ready to carve me up, with his secret knife, and I put on all the lights just to calm down and feel less lonely under the black carpet of an inexorable night.
New Words Learned:
Inexorable – unyielding, unalterable
nascent – beginning to exist or develop
vituperative – characterized by verbal abuse or castigation, violent denunciation or condemnation.
Zeitgeist – (German) the spirit of the time; general trend of thought or feeling characteristic of a particular period of time
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.
