The Writing's on the Wall...
Days
of Fine Gray Ash
will warm your heart!
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REVIEWS OF "Days of Fine Gray
Ash"
"There are some things, cotton
candy, roasted peanuts, cloudy days with storm clouds brewing,
that quite naturally make us want to curl up in a favorite chair,
wrapped in a favorite quilt, with a good book in our hands. If
that book is DAYS OF FINE GRAY ASH the day will have been
successfully navigated and you will have arrived at a wonderful
point of exploration.-- Nikki Giovanni, Poet
* * * * * * * * * *
the muse apprentice guild
(http://www.muse-apprentice-guild.com/)
the new canon of the 21st century
fall / winter: 2003 / 2004
A Review of Days of Fine Gray Ash (Monica E. Smith, Author)
This is a book of poems all about the subject love, and a very
good one at that. Ms. Smith writes with a voice endearing to the
ear that is silent, to the hands that grip the cold steel of a
hospital bed, anc the reader standing alone on a book store
aisle. Nikki Giovanni calls this book, "A wonderful point of
exploration." Those are accurate words, as none of us will
ever swim the entire length of the tossing and turning river of
love. The finest poem in this very exquisite collection is
entitled, "Revelation". Here is an excerpt:
In the stillness of a winter night
As the snow began to fall,
I heard him through a distant light,
To me he faintly called
I answered, though I did not see
The one whose voice I heard.
I knew when he spoke to me
And bade me do not fear
These words flow right across the road in a storm that will
either make you pull over to the side or risk a love you haven't
experienced before.
* * * * * * * * * *
poeticvoices.com March 2002 Book Review: Days of Fine Gray Ash by
Monica E. Smith
Days of Fine Gray Ash
by
Monica E. Smith
Includes Prior Publications, Dedication, Acknowledgements, Table
of Contents, Words of Love, Introduction, 59 pages of poetry, and
a Biography of the author, and a back-cover commentary by Nikki
Giovanni.
Self-Published through Instantpublisher.com; perfect-bound, soft
cover, 81 pages, plus inside front and back covers.
ISBN 9-31413-41-x; Library of Congress Control No. 2002100159,
<(c) 2002
Review by Ursula T. Gibson
Monica E. Smith writes in her Biography "I write what I like
to call 'accessible' poetry and feel that poetry need not be
written in a complicated language only a select few can
comprehend." This book is full of comprehensible, accessible
poetry, arranged in themes of Love's Memories, Love of Family,
Friendship, Romance, God's Love, Love's Pain, Love's Healing
Power, and Love's Gift, each containing 4-8 poems. The bonus of
quotations from English literature of Words of Love is
interesting, too.
I like accessible poetry. There is nothing simple about a poem
like this, but I feel it immediately:
I Thought You Long Dead
I thought you long dead
Until I heard your laughter
Among our voices
As we remembered when
I thought you no longer here
Until I saw you
In my mind's eye
I thought you could no longer touch me
Until your image
Warmed my heart
I thought once more
And felt the life still within you
The unmistakable nearness of your spirit
Your gentle reminder
You would always be with me
(page 24)
Her words are chosen with obvious care to capture condensed
feelings for us. She uses both free verse and formal structure
(rhyme, rhythm, poetic devices) to guide us to discovery of what
we may not have discerned before.
Two Hearts
[omitting
a long quotation from Paul Theroux' "D is for Death"
provided by the author]
Two hearts lay on marriage bed
entwined as braided thread.
The seed now sown in joyful union
seals the vow of two now wed.
Two hearts embrace in autumn's haze.
The passion still ablaze.
Each to the other clinging, pondering
life's fast-waning days.
Two hearts promise as before,
undying love forevermore.
Though Death its summons must impart
Two hearts in love yet soar.
(page 50)
Although I do find cliches in some of the poetry in this book, I
am not particularly troubled by it, because most of the poems
achieve what they set out to do to engage me.
In addition to the quality of the poetry it contains, the
reasonable cost of this nicely-designed book makes it accessible
as well.
Ursula T. Gibson (UrsulaTG@aol.com, Poetry Editor, Poetic
Voices.)
http://www.poeticvoices.coml0203Smith.html
5/2/2004
MONICA'S COMMENTS
We
have all known "days of fine gray ash"--moments when
only the warm, lingering memories