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If
you are searching for an easy read, an enjoyable time, a collection of
make-me-feel-good poems, this is not the book for you. If you opened
the book anticipating reading each poem once and then turning the
page, you're in for a surprise.
You will find
yourself saying, "I didn't like that poem." or "I got lost in that
one." or just "WOW!" Upon each poem completion you will deliberately
go back - almost reluctantly sometimes - and reread it. It's rather
exciting.
The cover was
intriguing, with its dark lines connecting three blue blobs diverting
my eyes from the title Three Cities. Did the connection - the flow -
run from top to bottom or the reverse? I had to find out.
Flipping to the back
cover the photo shows the author caught off guard. Or was he? The
twinkling impish look seemed self-evident, but upon closer inspection,
the eyes betray a deep seriousness. I would soon learn about
introspection in My Two Islands, and family pride in A Singular
Seamstress, and My Father's Hands.
In Beyond My Reach
one is left wondering if it was a real event. I found myself mentally
yelling, "Do something! Break the window!" Scary stuff.
These poems are
powerful in their explorations: the symbolism in The Gate; the
iridescent quality of the working man in A Love Borne Hatred; the
sensitivity in A Quality Not Seen; the essence of Cuba in I See God
From Ricardo's Rooftop.
The poem, Zahra
Kazemi, assumes the reader is familiar about whom the poem is
dedicated. Perhaps a brief prologue would eliminate this distraction.
When I finished the
book, I looked back at the cover again. I concluded the orientation
went from bottom to top, with the three cities - lifetimes if you will
- growing from youth and its passionate narrow outlook, through a
second 'city' with many intense influences coming in, to the third
mature consolidated realistic outlook.
Yes, dear reader,
enter if you dare, and get ready for a wild exciting mental ride.
Reviewed by:
J.
Graham Ducker, Author of Don’t Wake The Teacher! &
Observations of Heart and Mind by (Hidden Brook Press) and
Publisher of Stellar Showcase Journal
www.jgrahampublishing.com
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