Official Review: The Dove, The Panther, The Spear

Christina O Phillips · Post by **Christina O Phillips** » 13 Jul 2020, 13:39

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Dove, The Panther, The Spear" by Lance C. Haynes Jr..]

3 out of 4 stars

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Poetry is personal. It is an author putting pen to paper and letting loose their emotions in a way that the readers can feel, too, even if the readers have no similar experiences.

The Dove, The Panther, and The Spear is a collection of poetry written by Lance C. Haynes Jr. The book is divided into three segments, “The Mundane Spear,” “The Holy Dove,” and “Mighty Panther, Broken Shackles,” each containing a different number of poems. The first section is the longest with 29 poems, the middle is the shortest with only eight poems, and the last section has 11 poems. Each one was written in free verse and each one has occasional instances of rhymes.

Each of the three sections has their own main topic of focus. In “The Mundane Spear,” the section opens with a poem called “Father God, Mother Earth” that talks about the role of religion in one’s life and sets the tone for the remaining poems. Although most of the poems in this section are about love (and love and loss), there are religious aspects in each poem. I found it interesting that the author chose not to use capital letters (even the word “I” is lower case), but that makes the mention of the “Almighty” and “God” even more stressed since those are the only words that are capitalized. I particularly liked the author’s use of line breaks, especially in the poem “My Lover from Memory Lane” where the author says “you fell in love/but you got up/with hate.”

In the second section, “The Holy Dove,” the poems shift and have more of a religious focus than the first. Whereas God was mentioned in the first section, these poems acknowledge Him more and his presence in our lives. The final section is the most different and focuses on the lives of Black Americans. This is the most emotionally powerful section including some strong poems like “Tales of the Ghetto” and “Princess of the Ghetto.”

Despite the different themes in each part, the collection still feels seamless, like a journey of the author’s faith and life. I appreciate Haynes Junior’s message of faith and love his rhythm and line breaks.

I rate this book a 3 out of 4 stars. This is a solid collection of poetry for any fan of the genre, but especially suited for those who like to read about other’s thoughts on faith and the Black culture and experience in America.

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The Dove, The Panther, The Spear
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Topsey · Post by **Topsey** » 14 Jul 2020, 07:03

This sounds like a really enigmatic collection of poems. Thank you for a great review. I’ll have to give it a look.

Chinelookeke · Post by **Chinelookeke** » 14 Jul 2020, 09:56

Wonderful review. I would take a look at the book. It looks like it's going to be interesting. Thanks.

Elvis Best · Post by **Elvis Best** » 14 Jul 2020, 14:14

I do love reading poetry collections. Thanks for the honest review. Good job!

Lizziemarcel · Post by **Lizziemarcel** » 14 Jul 2020, 19:12

Thanks for this insightful review. I love the quote " you fell in love but, got up in hate" This is a mystery. I think I will give this book a try cause I love reading religious and love books.

Jenny93 · Post by **Jenny93** » 14 Jul 2020, 19:33

Impressive review. I love reading poetry collection and will give this book a try

Great work

Dayodiola · Post by **Dayodiola** » 14 Jul 2020, 20:09

Poems are words on a stable of reasoning. Draft with unending stretch. Thanks for the review

Josephe-Anne · Post by **Josephe-Anne** » 14 Jul 2020, 22:17

I think the poet's use of his creative license was interesting as he chose to use unconventional capitalization to emphasize certain words.

Thank you for your thoughtful review.