Review by Sarah Tariq -- Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly

[Ashiyya Tariq]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly" by Raed Anis Aljishi.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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H.T. Sorley says, “A good poetry has the following characteristics: 1- It provides mental comfort. 2- It has the capability to create imagery. 3- It provides intellectual guidance.” The heart –touching poetry, the Bleeding Gull- look, feel, fly fulfills these characteristics. Raed Anis Aljishi (the poet, Translator) in his poetry presents a strong imaginative outlook of some woeful incidents of life.

The Bleeding Gull- look, feel, fly comprises of 88 short poems. It deals with different topics and important life events, like love, joy, sadness, loneliness, cancer, death and religion. Every poem has a unique thought, which appeals the reader’s imagination. The Aljishi’s poems include Harmony, Infant Martyr, Grieve, Motivation of Death, Praying, Gull’s Chant, Religion is Love, The Holy Book, The Aroma of Hopes, Breast Cancer and many other poems.

The Poet, through his poetry expresses the miseries of life, especially a man living in a prison or a woman fighting with the cancer and an infant who becomes the victim of the policies of the despotic rulers, loses his life without knowing anything. The poet gives a special importance to hope in life. The “Aroma of Hope” and “A Cup of Hope” are evidence of this.

The poems that I liked the most are, “Vision,” “Masks,” “Autism Girls,” “Infant Martyr” and “Prison.” Every poem exclusively describes the sentiments that a person can feel, when passing through a particular state. The Poet has successfully expressed his thoughts via his poetry. It is the sign of a good poetry that we can feel identification with. It articulates with our own inner feelings. There is a saying that a “poet is born not made.” So I agree after reading this book.

The Poet is a human rights activist and a feminist. He is also working on issues involving children and literacy. So his sensitive emotions for women and children have been conveyed aptly in his poems. One thing I dislike, that some of the poems do not truly represent their title like “The Holy Book,” “Imam Hussain (R.A)” and “Fatima(R.A)” as the reader demand more explicit and detailed representation of these great personalities. Nevertheless, it is a good book and I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars.

The symbol of Gull is a perfect metaphor used in the book title. The innocence of a Gull has been symbolized to express the inability of human ahead of fate. Of course a good poem lifts the reader out of the ordinary and gives glimpses of a more illuminating reality. So I would suggest this to the lovers of poetry. Keats has rightly said, “A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.”

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Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly
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Like Sarah Tariq's review? Post a comment saying so!

[Kalin Adi]

The topics conveyed in these poems can be easy relatable to almost every person. I wasn't sure to review this book when I saw it, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!

[Izesicle]

This is an enlightening review. I like your quotes about poetry and its intended effect.

I would definitely read a poem titled, "Aroma of Hope".

Thanks for stopping by my review.

[Ashiyya Tariq]

The topics conveyed in these poems can be easy relatable to almost every person. I wasn't sure to review this book when I saw it, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the review!

Thanks kalin for stopping by my review.

[Ashiyya Tariq]

This is an enlightening review. I like your quotes about poetry and its intended effect.

I would definitely read a poem titled, "Aroma of Hope".

Thanks for stopping by my review.

Thanks for your feedback.