Review by jenjayfromSA -- Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly
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jenjayfromSA
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Review by jenjayfromSA -- Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly
[Following is a volunteer review of "Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly" by Raed Anis Aljishi.]
4 out of 4 stars
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I enjoy poetry for the words, rhythms, imagery and emotions; the ideas conveyed with a simplicity and clarity that reach past the usual modes of thought to touch a common thread of humanity.
Poet Raed Anis Al-Jishi excels at this In Bleeding Gull, look, feel, fly.
His poems are short, often only a few words, spaced and singular. Frequently the words are used out of context, married incongruously, which excites and expands the communication, as in Harmony: “The picture became a woman, her window smiles, I feel the harmony with her balcony…” There is hope of connection, but the nouns add distance. It ends with foreboding, as so many of the poems do. He writes with bite. He is, after all, a bleeding gull.
Frequently I had to stop and ponder. A single word or symbol can add another level of meaning or inference entirely. Part of my confusion may be cultural. The poet hails from Saudi Arabia and I am unfamiliar with some of his images and references.
He writes across the full gambit of human experience, touching us where we live: our search for self, such as in Masks: “I cannot recognise myself if I don’t wear me…”
We are reminded that Saudi Arabia is not without its travails. Pain washes through poems like Demonstrations, Prisoner and Infant Martyr: “It was the last supper and a birth of a certain death.”
There are also moments of unalloyed joy, such as the profound delight of First Step: “Your first steps are my undefined tears. They stripped my heart…”, the grace and beauty of Tunisia: “A flower carried carefully by the wind, the verses of the petals are hymns of morning…” and, bringing back one of my own memories, A Summer Day: “My steps on the milky shore, my feathers in the sky, drawing a Picasso painting …”
Many of the poems touch on love; love anticipated, invited, cherished, disappointed, rejected, broken and lost: “The flower refused to wither. The thorns didn’t make a melody…”
There are insights and bitterness; the fear of Breast Cancer, the wistfulness of Homeland Songs, and the poignant cry in Autism Girls: “Why are they using (her) when they talk around me?”
One of my favourites, simply titled ICat, only 12 words, will come to mind whenever I see a cat at bay ready to spit and slap.
I am not sure if what I received was always what the poet intended to convey; perhaps not. It was still an experience to cherish.
I commend this collection to anyone who delights in words, images and ideas, especially when they come in tight, insightful packages.
I downloaded this as a PDF, which was perfect, but when it converted to Kindle, much of the spacing, crucial to this kind of poetry, was corrupted.
I shall use the PDF as the basis and give this 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly
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4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
I enjoy poetry for the words, rhythms, imagery and emotions; the ideas conveyed with a simplicity and clarity that reach past the usual modes of thought to touch a common thread of humanity.
Poet Raed Anis Al-Jishi excels at this In Bleeding Gull, look, feel, fly.
His poems are short, often only a few words, spaced and singular. Frequently the words are used out of context, married incongruously, which excites and expands the communication, as in Harmony: “The picture became a woman, her window smiles, I feel the harmony with her balcony…” There is hope of connection, but the nouns add distance. It ends with foreboding, as so many of the poems do. He writes with bite. He is, after all, a bleeding gull.
Frequently I had to stop and ponder. A single word or symbol can add another level of meaning or inference entirely. Part of my confusion may be cultural. The poet hails from Saudi Arabia and I am unfamiliar with some of his images and references.
He writes across the full gambit of human experience, touching us where we live: our search for self, such as in Masks: “I cannot recognise myself if I don’t wear me…”
We are reminded that Saudi Arabia is not without its travails. Pain washes through poems like Demonstrations, Prisoner and Infant Martyr: “It was the last supper and a birth of a certain death.”
There are also moments of unalloyed joy, such as the profound delight of First Step: “Your first steps are my undefined tears. They stripped my heart…”, the grace and beauty of Tunisia: “A flower carried carefully by the wind, the verses of the petals are hymns of morning…” and, bringing back one of my own memories, A Summer Day: “My steps on the milky shore, my feathers in the sky, drawing a Picasso painting …”
Many of the poems touch on love; love anticipated, invited, cherished, disappointed, rejected, broken and lost: “The flower refused to wither. The thorns didn’t make a melody…”
There are insights and bitterness; the fear of Breast Cancer, the wistfulness of Homeland Songs, and the poignant cry in Autism Girls: “Why are they using (her) when they talk around me?”
One of my favourites, simply titled ICat, only 12 words, will come to mind whenever I see a cat at bay ready to spit and slap.
I am not sure if what I received was always what the poet intended to convey; perhaps not. It was still an experience to cherish.
I commend this collection to anyone who delights in words, images and ideas, especially when they come in tight, insightful packages.
I downloaded this as a PDF, which was perfect, but when it converted to Kindle, much of the spacing, crucial to this kind of poetry, was corrupted.
I shall use the PDF as the basis and give this 4 out of 4 stars.
******
Bleeding Gull - look, feel, fly
View: on Bookshelves
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