is a poetry collection covering diverse aspects of life. The title, alone, already reveals to the reader that this book will take him or her on a very emotional journey of romantic highs and lows, crossing over the bridge of grief of a lost one, and finally reaching the mountain-top destination of spiritual awareness. As my good friend, Harvey Ganot, rightly puts it: “These are poems to stir your thoughts, to spark your loins”.
The book contains 35 poems and is divided into four parts, three of which cover two different themes respectively: (7 poems) romance/friendship, (10 poems) religion/death, (6 poems) eroticism, and (12 poems) societal/political themes — all reflected upon in one book. The introductory page of each part is not divided by the words “Part I” etc.; I have placed pictures of relevance to each theme as the section-divider. These photo-breaks are meant to arouse pleasant emotions in mind of the beholder J.
Many poems are written in the first person. Why? I enjoy reading books written that way. Many poems contain questions. I am aware that not all people will appreciate that.
“Tactics”, the first poem in the book, speaks directly to men telling them not to brand a woman as being ‘easy’ because they, the men, are also targeted by women — it works both ways.
“Calling God” is a marvellous prayer to be read and kept in mind.
On the subject of death, I deal with, amongst others, her father’s murder, which occurred on August 11, 1973 — six weeks before her 20th birthday. A particularly moving poem is “Soliloquy I” in which she speaks directly to him in his grave.
My poems are quite direct, full of intensity and, I’ve been told, show a lot of courage — as in the erotic poem “Us”. The erotic poems are neither pornographic nor vulgar. Some are indeed on the border; but they do not cross the line.
My ‘soft spot’ for the aged, the underprivileged and the handicapped is quite visible in various poems, particularly in those dedicated to the homeless, “Solace” and “Intruding Upon Your Isolation”; in “Best Friend”, a moving poem communicating with a blind friend; and in “Old Love”, an erotic poem about her grandparents’ love for each other. In “Fly High”, a mother bird advises her now grown offspring before leaving the nest for good, to be careful in future of the beast called ‘man’, because his best friend is a thing called ‘gun’.
My concern about the human race’s treatment of each other in the world we are living in, and my hope in a better future — which can only be achieved if we all really want to work towards achieving it — are best expressed in the poems “Regardless”, “Holding On”, “Brutality”, “Peace Please”, “Spirits” and “The Cycle”. The latter two are excerpts of my original songs, which I have on demo-tapes.The real purpose behind this book can be found in the poem “PRAYER”.
