My method for reading poetry is fairly stable. Especially work from a poet who is unknown to me. I read it all through once quickly. I’m picking up on language use, on rhyme, on rhythm, and on the use of language but only at a superficial level. I then reread a day or two later and take my time. I look again at poems that stand out to me – and these might be different every time I read the collection – and then I think about what the words are actually saying to me. The beauty of poetry to me is that I have no way of knowing if what I am “hearing” is what the poet actually meant to say to me. That to me is the point of good poetry. I can read my emotions and my pain into someone else’s words and find solace, or joy, or a sense of not being alone.
Recently I read “TINY MIRRORS” by GABRIELLA MEGHAN. The first fast read through of this one was a very moving experience. This is a collection full of emotion and honesty and it is almost like eavesdropping on someone telling their life problems to a friend and yet somehow allowing you access to their psyche. On the second read, the language and rhythm come through clearer and the clever use of poetic devices like internal rhyme and repetition. There are several stand out poems and lots of stand out lines.
“… a lie filled dream of empty emotions…”
“Their never-fairytale was broken from stone... and sent to the depths of the merely unknown.”
Both these quotes are from “Vague Detailed Rejoinder”.
“It's the disease of the restless. You can never keep an image straight, trying to impress and please everyone - when in reality, all you want to do is close your eyes and melt away... “
This is from a poem called “Disease of the Restless” and I haven’t got the format right but the words will ring true to anyone who recognises that feeling.
However, this is not a book filled with angst, although there is no shortage of it. The book also has joy and some beautiful language use – “My whisper doesn't wake her, but makes her aware... Of just how much I truly love her.”
“Exit
Find me by the exit,
Whiskey drink in hand.
Push me against the wall,
Ask me for a dance.”
I find myself reading some of the poems and adding in a word that isn’t there and some could have benefitted from a revisit and maybe a redraft but overall this collection is strong. It has pain but it also has hope and is the kind of book you can pick up, read a few poems, contemplate their meaning and lose yourself in nostalgic recollection. And I think that is a success in any language.
About Gabriella Meghan
Gabriella Meghan is a young Lesbian Author and LGBTQ advocate living just outside of Phoenix, AZ. Having lived in four states, and traveling to nearly every state in the United States, Gabriella has used her experiences to promote love and acceptance within the community! In August 2018 Gabriella self-published her second book, but debut poetry book "Tiny Mirrors."
