Poetry: June Challenge

Well, my friend and I tried to challenge ourselves again this past June to write 30 poems in 30 days. We didn't quite make it, but we still wrote poetry, which is more the point. Here are, in my mind, some of the better ones (8 in total). Read one, read all, or anything in between! Hopefully you find something you enjoy!

To Rock a Baby to Sleep

Make him believe
he’s returned to the womb,
arms wrapped up
in the green blanket,
that old rag you
used to suck on.
Even as his arms fight,

so also they resign
themselves at his side
like a soldier.
You want peace
as any parent,
who, sleepless, wants
sleep for everyone.

Hold him. Now,
imitate the ocean:
its swelling motion
in your knees,
its whispers slipping
through teeth, lips,
and hair on his head.

Be that gentle noise
he heard once
inside his mother
who climbed stairs
daily to work.

Take those steps
with him now cradled
in your arms. Steady
now, climb with him
up, down until his eyes
get lost in a memory
of darkness and warmth,
whispers and struggle.

---

The Surface at Dusk

At this time, the reflection is the clearest.

Here, the wind has stopped pushing us
and the white lake shaped like half-a-lung
is caught in a cage of black maples
like the clouds, now solitary islands
sending roots into the shadowed reeds.

I won’t leave like a breath in Winter.

The thin calm surface of its face
reminds me how hard it is to go
home after weeks of independence,
of being suddenly indescribably new.
It’s true; water seeks the deepest valleys,

and cuts through my dirt and my stone.

Once, I couldn’t sleep for lack of a name
for the feeling, but I watched and listened
as a friend half-hid himself on the corner
of our cabin and cried. There are no words
to describe absence of a place, only pictures

like sky being lake being men at night.

---

The Falcon

Above the bruised stones of the plaza
where I am watching children play –
teasing, talking, chasing each other down –
a falcon planes, solitary in the sky.
On cobbled stones, we are a swarm,
buzzing when we hear the grate of silence,
but the bird is calm, wings barely moving
in the wind; it chooses its own course
and by slight twists, mastered over time,
will not be carried away. It stays
a moment more motionless before rising
higher above us, searching for a path
invisible to those of us not watching. Everyone
continues playing, eyes shifting side to side,
but not upwards; and it goes, soaring away
like a spirit unnoticed in a white sky.

---

Caminos como relámpagos

Por sentarme aquí, el día
se alarga como un relámpago
bifurcado en nuestro cielo.

La llovizna sin parar
cubre la ventana oscura
y al ver brillar rayos blancos
de sol, mi alma se despega
de su pesadilla gris
y se escapa por la entrada
cerrada.
             Mi cuerpo inmóvil
sabe el fin de estas historias:
como la luz se tragará
y no se verá detrás
del techo manchado de agua
y nubes.
          Más tú no crees,
alma perdida en tu gozo,
que el momento te pasará.

Las gotas dulces atrapas
en manos sucias; mis manos
tú limpias con inocencia
y te veo y no me pierdo
por el camino brillante
de un día largo de lluvia
sin guía ni tierra estable.

Paths like Lightning

Because I sit here, the day
extends itself like lightning
forked in our sky.

The drizzle, without stop,
fogs the dark window
and seeing bright white rays
of sun, my soul unsticks itself
from its gray nightmare
and escapes by the entrance
shut tight.
          My body, motionless,
knows the end of these stories:
how the light will be swallowed
and won’t be seen behind
the roof stained with water
and clouds.
          But you don’t believe,
soul lost in your joy,
that the moment will pass you by.

The sweet drops you catch
with dirty hands; my hands
you clean with innocence
and I see you and I don’t lose myself
on the brilliant path
of a long day of rain
without guidance nor stable ground.

---

Summer Festivals

How often have I loved
a memory, only to touch it
and watch it blaze bright
like happiness in summer
into ashes and morning air.

Memories that take shape,
memories that grow fingers,
long hair, legs, and lips,
in the end slip into autumn
like rockets after the fireworks.

First the reds and blues fade
then the gray afterimage.
What remains of the beauty
is the desire to touch it again
like a dream after waking.

How much longer can I live
holding on to mementos:
festival prizes, mirrors and masks?
I’m weighed down and I’m afraid
to touch what may crumble.

---

A Response

Today, across the street, I heard you
calling for your child and at that moment
a satellite sent a message into space.
I heard the silence after you called
like the hum of a hive buzzing louder
in its wax cells and I remembered
the cicadas song waking me in May
to an empty house. Where did the child go
that you can’t find her? You called again
and dogs barked from across the ocean.

The world was full with your voice
and where it was night, wolves howled
at the sun’s replacement, battered and full
with reflections. A searchlight swept the sky
above the chatter on an old county fair,
an attraction so crowded, it’s easy
to get separated from the ones you love.
As if from a child, a red balloon rose
inside my throat and I wanted to say,
I hear you. I hear you. I hear you.

---

Shaken Loose

Today, the leaves fell harder.
Perhaps it was the late winter yawning
or the summer stretching its newfound fingers,
but the wind carried wide-handed oak leaves down
and the maple seeds soon followed, curious,
by the thousands until they lay broken across the sidewalk.

Too often I believe I’ve found it:
a place to put down roots and open up
the knot that twists through my throat
and around my ribcage. But I can see
the birds point away again. Their shape, a shovel
sweeping over the pit they’ve left, this nest, the solid ground –
or an arrowhead flying blind, without a shaft.

---

The Price

Five-hours out of town,
the nearest one with an airport
to where my family sleeps
in a home with an empty bed,
the covers, perhaps, still drawn,
I am weighing in my hands
the price of a starry night,
clean of the midnight oil
cities spill across the sky,
against the home dinner
conversations that revolve around
a wooden table, not a world,
and what is work worth
when it pulls me so far
into a forest without guideposts.

Review: Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Haroun and the Sea of Stories
Salman Rushdie

Mom was right, this book is my kind of book. It reminds me of one of my favorite books of all time "The Phantom Tollbooth" in that it elevates the imagination to a new level and makes you think about reality in a new light.

The story deals with Haroun Khalifa and what happens when his father loses his Gift of Gab, his ability to tell stories. In truth there are two stories here - the story about Haroun and his family and the story about the sea of stories that parallels in many ways the situation with his family.

Similar to "The Phantom Tollbooth" that I mentioned earlier, this book takes real words and plays with them; it takes imaginative ideas that seem impossible to us and makes them real. In this way, it takes us away from the way we normally contemplate the words, the ideas, and the real situations that they represent. Where we land is, literally, out of this world.

All I can do for you is recommend that you (all of you) read this. The language is rich, the characters are compelling, and the ideas are fascinating. I leave you with some quotes from the book:

“He knew what he knew: that the real world was full of magic, so magical worlds could easily be real.”

“Believe in your own eyes and you'll get into a lot of trouble, hot water, a mess.”

“I always thought storytelling was like juggling [...] You keep a lot of different tales in the air, and juggle them up and down, and if you're good you don't drop any.”

“Nothing comes from nothing... ; no story comes from nowhere; new stories are born from old--it is the new combinations that make them new.”

Review: The Far Side of Evil

The Far Side of Evil
Sylvia Engdahl

One of my favorite books of all time is "Enchantress from the Stars". Anyone who's ever asked me for a recommendation knows this. My love of the book is such that the idea of reading it's sequel/companion novel made me nervous. What if the book didn't live up to my expectations? What if it somehow altered my perception of the book I already love?

Thankfully, this book lived up to my expectations. It maintains the same well-worded wisdom that I loved. To find a book that is entertaining is good, but to find one both entertaining and profound is a treasure. I will be adding this to my list of books to reread.

While "Enchantress" would still be interesting and accessible to younger audiences, "The Far Side of Evil" leans towards an older audience in its themes. There's nothing bad, it's just a little more complicated.

The story centers around Elana again and it is similarly written is a report / letter form (speaking to the audience). She is on a mission this time to a world in danger of nuclear self-destruction if nothing is done. This is a normal process in Youngling worlds called the Critical Stage - a desperate moment when either a civilization destroys itself or turns their new power towards space exploration, after which total self-destruction is no longer possible. Only the mission has already gone wrong and Elana must do all she can to save the planet.

Due to the plot line, and perhaps because of the main topics at hand, the story may not be as interesting to high-school kids depending on their maturity level.  I loved deep thinking sci-fi books even in high-school, but I'll admit I get more out of them now. Even so, there is a strong emotional pull towards Elana and the other main characters. As one person put it, it relies more on human interaction than on action. Many YA books today try to be deep, but they don't scratch the surface compared to these novels. Few books have altered my way of thinking or presented to me such unforgettable ideas as have been presented to me by "Enchantress" and "The Far Side of Evil." Sylvia Engahl is good at creating compelling characters and interesting stories against the backdrop of much grander ideas.

I ate it up, but perhaps its not for everyone. If you haven't read either "Enchantress from the Stars" or "The Far Side of Evil," I'd recommend you read first the former ("Enchantress") and then the latter. That being said, although they both feature Elana and other related elements, in truth a knowledge of one is not required for an understanding of the other. But if you love the one and you enjoy thinking about things, then this book is a must for you. I recommend them both regardless.

---

P.S. If you do get this book, get the updated version. It was originally written in 1971, but since then the author updated some things to make it more timeless. (2003 or 2005 edition will work)

Review: Walk Two Moons

In tradition with my penchant for reading children's books, I've been reading "Walk Two Moons" by Sharon Creech, a Newbery Medal winner, for quite some time now (because other books kept on coming out like "Clockwork Princess" that I just had to read first). That being said, "Walk Two Moons" was a terrific book worth reading. It's not a book you can storm through - there's too much packed into it to do that.

The story is about a girl named Sal who goes with her grandparents to visit her missing mother. On the way, she tells them the story of her friend Phoebe, her mother, and the lunatic. The story acts as a catharsis of sorts as it has parallels with her own story and the things she also has to learn.

The chapters alternate, more or less, in between Sal's narration and her trip with her grandparents. Each chapter is filled with interesting experiences, quotable quotes, and life insights. Indeed, each chapter is packed with things to ponder. In part, that is a reason it took me so long to read; it gave me reasons to put it down and think for a while. The book is not a page turner in the sense that it has no cliff-hangers and, although you are interested, the alternative chapters slow down the narrative.

So do I recommend it? Yes, of course, without a doubt. It's a book to come back to again. There is wisdom in its pages that children and adults alike ought to discover. It's a book that pulls on the heartstrings and talks to us about overcoming difficult times in our lives. If you're looking for a book to go through slowly (perhaps on a nightly basis) with your child, then this book works. If you're looking for a book for your child to go through quickly to gather his or her interest in reading in general, then there are better books I can recommend to you. But then again, you don't have to be a child to appreciate the worth of this book.

Review: The Search for Delicious

As many of you know, I love children's literature and I make a point of reading it often.

Today, on my ~2 hour plane ride, I reread from cover to cover "The Search for Delicious" by Natalie Babbitt (also famous for "Tuck Everlasting").

The story starts with a silly argument when the Prime Minister of kingdom decides to make an example-based dictionary and no one can agree on the same definition for "Delicious" The King believes that delicious is a good apple while the Queen believes that it is Christmas Pudding. And soon everyone in the castle is arguing so the Prime Minister's Special Assistant, a boy named Gaylen, is sent to poll the different villages of the kingdom. But in truth, there is much more underneath what appears to be a simple silly argument.

The story contains a little bit for everyone. There's a good deal of humor, but also insight. It has fantasy in it, but through this perspective is added about cycles of history of humans. Self-discovery is explored as is concept of belief in things we cannot see. Also, the poll itself leads the readers to consider the question as well: what is delicious? What is really important?

It's a short book, but the themes are well presented and clearly. One thing I appreciate about children's literature is that it doesn't beat around the bush. The book has ideas and they are given in a way that can be understood by anyone.

I'm glad I've reread this book and I'm sure I'll continue to reread it again in the future. It's worth it.

Reviews: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel (The Necromancer, The Warlock, The Enchantress)

Where to start with this series? On previous occasions I've read and reviewed The Alchemyst, the Magician, and The Sorceress, the first three books in this six book series. The pace with which I've read these books is not due to them being slow-paced, but more because I didn't own all of the books from the get-go. Indeed, each of these books is very fast-paced. As with any lengthy series, I'll stick to just reviewing the whole series to avoid spoilers.

Let me start with the strengths of the series and in them I will point out the negatives along the way:

1st: They are imaginative.

Myths from all over the world are incorporated into the storyline. And not only myths, but also historical figures. The author has been quoted as saying that the only characters he invented for the series were the twins. You see, this story deals with Josh and Sophie Newman who, through a series of events, wind up going along with Nicholas Flamel who is very much alive due to an immortality spell that he uses from a book called the Codex, a book that tells of a prophecy of twins and of the destruction or preservation of the world. Among the many other human figures brought into the story are Machiavelli, Billy the Kid, Shakespeare, John Dee, Musashi, and Joan of Arc. From mythology are included such as Odin, Isis, Bastet, Hekate, Mars, and Gilgamesh. And let's not forget places such as Stonehenge, the Catacombs, Atlantis, Yggdrasil or artifacts such as Excalibur. And I haven't begun to scrape the surface. A negative from this is that it's hard to predict what will be brought in next to the story, making foreshadowing almost impossible. Also, because magic plays a role in the series and it's powers and limitations are never clearly defined (you can tell that there are rules, but you learn as you go and you never learn it all), again it makes you never sure what a character can pull out of their sleeve.

2nd: They are complex.

Some may view this as a negative, but I love it when I can tell that the author has the end in mind from the beginning. And especially by the ending you can tell that that's true. It's been said that the author's written linear plot progression notes are as long as a book and I believe it. Now, one thing that some readers may have difficulty with is the constant narration switch. Even from book one there are multiple narrators and it never gets better. In fact, the only downside of the ending is that there are too many things going on at the same time (even if it makes sense). We know who the main characters are, but still it feels slightly disjointed at times.

3rd: They are informative.

As one would hope with a series so full of material, much of the myth and legend is explained. Much of it is interwoven to an interesting effect. But my favorite was to learn about the history behind several of the historical characters, even if there was definitely a little bit of creative license added in places to help mold them into the story.

4th: They are insightful.

Because of the constant references to both myth and history, commentary is also made about what can be learned from those two entities which I found very interesting and worth understanding. In addition, this learning is then often applied to the characters, from which we can also learn how to apply these things to ourselves. Perhaps the only trouble is that the books have so many characters that none of them became so important that I became incredibly invested in them. Don't get me wrong; I liked the characters plenty, but there weren't many, if any, moments to cry over. And there wasn't any romance, which is also a negative for me.

The only extra downside I can think of that isn't in contrast to a strength is that the book didn't have a good denouement. Not that the ending was rushed - enough was given to make it not feel rushed - but that the ending could have been a lot fuller and still not dragged on in my opinion. With so many characters to follow I was impressed that most loose ends were tied up, but they weren't strongly tied. I would've preferred more.

All in all, a solid series. I may not read them again, but then again I may (since they will be lying around). Regardless, they are worth reading at least once especially for any fan of myth, history, and fantasy.

Two Reviews: Incarceron & To See The Queen

As many of you know I love reading both fiction and poetry; hence one review today is of one, while the other is of the other.

Incarceron
Catherine Fisher

The story is split into two narratives that come together.

First there is Finn. He lives in Incarceron, a vast living and ruthless prison very much like a world, but he has no memories of his earlier years, only a few flashes of a place he believes may be the outside. But how? No one comes in from the outside, just as no one escapes. Except there is the legend of one, Sapphique, who escaped many years ago. Then one day he discovers a crystal key and soon after begins speaking through it to a girl named Claudia.

Claudia lives on the outside, the daughter of the Warden of Incarceron. Soon she will be much like a prisoner in an arranged marriage to a royal flop. However, she soon believes that Finn may be the key to her escape as well.

We switch between the two places - inside Incarceron with Finn, and outside with Claudia. It takes a several chapters for the narratives to intertwine more, but both are interesting. We come to find that the outside is not necessarily a haven either. The motivations of the various characters also drives the reading forward.

I think what I liked most about this book were the questions it brought up about the nature of freedom. What does it mean to be free?

A quote a really liked goes as follows: "None of us have much idea where we are. Perhaps all our lives we are too concerned with where, and not enough with who."

Another idea was that of the implications of technology and how it can be both helpful and harmful to a society.

A final thing I enjoyed, which may not be enjoyed by some, is that the ultimate goodness or not of several characters is left unclear. There are some people who's true motives, or how they would act in a certain situation, or what they have done in the past, is left in doubt. Although often this might not be favorable, it made the most sense in this book where most characters must live duplicitous lives in order to survive. It is easy to paint characters black or white, but to make them gray and still likable is a challenge and I think it was achieved.

Although I have not read the sequel to this two book series (and I've heard it wasn't as good), I feel that this book was worth reading on its own. I'll read the second book, but even so this book has merit for the unique world it had created. It give you something to think about, which is fair praise for any novel. If you enjoy a bit of adventure, character development, as well as interesting ideas mixed into a young adult novel, I recommend this to you. Note: if you're looking for romance, there's little to none of that in this book at least. Perhaps in the next book.

To See The Queen
Allison Seay

I had the chance a week or so ago to see a poetry reading by a graduate of UNCG, now published poet. I bought her book and enjoyed it quite thoroughly.

I have noticed that nowadays with poetry it is becoming more and more common for poetry books to have a common narrative or theme that ties it all together, making the sum of the parts perhaps better than the individual poems. That is the way is was with this book of poetry. These poems deal with the authors own sufferings with depression and schizofrenia, a topic which drew me into the poems. From start to finish the poems are excellent, and yet there were few poems that I would pick out and read as a standalone poem. I'd post those few here, but they aren't online.

If you haven't had had the experience of a poetry book that is greater than the sum of its parts or are interested in the themes, by all means pick it up. Well, if you love poetry, that is.