Playing catch-up with my book reviewing:
Check out the Book Review Section for First Literary-Review under October:
Book Review for Leigh Harrison’s Finding Sermons in Stones (WordCrew Publications, 2011, New York), ISBN # 978-0-9838417-0-8 32pp.
Leigh Harrison is an artiste of
diverse talent who infuses her singer-songwriter flare with her love for metric
and syllabic poetry. In her latest
book, Finding Sermons in Stones, we
enter her garden of twenty-three poems and allow our senses and inner-sense to
read along with our eyes. We learn
to release our inner tension though her verbal yoga and let go of the conflicts
and over-stimulation of the hi-tech world. We meditate on her words, stretch our sensibilities, release
the toxins, and breathe. The
theme of her poetry is summed up in the title of her book, inspired by this
quote from Shakespeare's As You Like It (II:i):
And this our life, exempt from
public haunt,
Finds tongues in trees, books
in the running brooks,
Sermons in stones and good in
everything . . . .
There is beauty in life. There is a peaceful harmony ensconced
in the seasons. Within the hostility
of life, there is redemption, and life is good. Ms. Harrison’s words walk along a higher path. Her words strip the burden of
negativity. We are released from
the hectic pace, allow ourselves to slow down, walk in nature’s shoes, and be
more in tune with our surroundings and ourselves.
She begins with the season of
birth, SPRING.
First, shy crocus
peeks from frozen earth,
pale violet petals
edged in white
We experience the burgeoning
moments associated with this season and her words are exhilarating:
Then satin daffodils,
lemon-yellow narcissus,
soft as butterfly wings,
stately as parading trumpets
In WEEDS, even the “humble” weed deserves reverence and is
not overlooked by the author:
Fiddlehead fern and burdock,
dandelion, Queen Anne’s lace,
each beneath the hazy sun
would turn its humble face.
No comments:
Post a Comment