What an Amazing Compilation of Poems

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Sing to me of Words

Received 5 out of 5 stars

Review:

What an amazing compilation of poems that made me want to sit comfortably on the back porch, in my favorite chair, sipping tea and reading this delightful book. When I read Sing to Me of Words, I felt peaceful, freedom, love, blessing, and as if the author was in tuned with her creator. Kimberly Lynn Duboise delivered gracefully in a book full of enlightenment, journeys, and emotional stages. I journeyed with her to beautiful fields where caterpillars digested themselves and became butterflies, “Free” to change and become more. I watched with her as “Blessings” covered the earth and led us to wisdom’s gate.

Kimberly has shown great skill in her writing. I definitely recommend this book to those who want to relax, love, grow, and becoming one with themselves. 

Goal Setting vs. Positive Thinking

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The Power of Goal Setting
Received 3.5 out of 5 stars

 Review: 
A consistent theme could be seen in reading “The Power of Goal Setting.” The theme was not about goal setting, but regarding the laws of attraction and focusing on the things you want. Donna did a great job with providing examples and providing a sample goal plan. The book even had places in it where people could fill out their goal statement, obstacles, and action steps. This portion would be very helpful for youth who have never completed a goal statement. Although positive thinking goes hand in hand with goal setting, I believe the book was far more focused on the thinking aspect of goal setting than the actual title that so boldly adorned its front cover. What I had hoped for in reading this book was that the author focused a bit more on the steps of goals setting and displayed ways to alter goals when plans did not work out.

 The book was good for its audience and very encouraging; however would have been better received with a different title.

A Spark Ignited

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A Spark Ignited

Be A Spark

Received 4 out of 5 stars

Review:

The beginning of the book started out a bit slow. However, Ms. Maria Mudassir caught by full attention by the third poem called “Angel in the Dark.” Her writing spoke to me and took me on a quest to uncover the differences and similarities between the princess and the witch or to identify them both as one. The piece was very thought provoking and arranged as if it was an enigma poem.

As I continued to read, I found myself enjoying “The Scattered Pages.” The poem displayed the cruel realities of the world in regards to life that often turns into lesson-oriented realities. I was amazed how a young woman so young could have written poetry so beautiful. Maria showed that great poetry definitely has no age limit adorned to it.

I also recommend reading the following poems in Be A Spark: “Try Living in Me, The Scattered Pages, Who Said Kids Don’t Make Sense, Fog Eclipsing The Eye of My Mind, Dreams Outdoes the Use, and One True Love.” 

The Potential To Be Great

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Element of Freedom
Received 3 out of 5 Stars

Review:
O'nika Barnette's book, Element of freedom, has the potential to be great. In the book, she wrote about things that could inspire others, such as: Not being a victim anymore, being strong and motherly like a black queen, and rising above all the chaos and "ashes." These were relatable topics, especially the topic regarding rising above everything. Something I had hoped for in reading the book was what I call the art of pulling people emotionally into the poems. I wanted to feel like I was a black queen, exerting my motherly instincts to protect my kingdom in every possible way; I wanted to rise above the ashes as if "I Rise" was a modern day rendition of Maya Angelou's poem "Still I rise" with a James Weldon Johnson "Lift every voice and sing" feel to it; I also wanted to show my transition of not being a victim anymore.

O'Nika did show an ability to make comparisons or relate objects to each other; however her message would have been more heartfelt if she had created an emotional connection to the readers and her words were arranged in a way that would also create the same connection.

I look forward in reading other works by O'nika and seeing her transition as a poet.

Eclectic Pieces that Enlighten the Soul

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Science of Love: Poems by Attar, Saadi, and Hafez
Translated by: M. Rohi
Received 5 out of 5 stars

Review:
When I read the beginning of Science of Love Translated by M. Rohi, I immediately asked myself if I was reading poetry. I was a little caught off guard by the content in the beginning that resembled short stories or even unknown quoted proverbs. As I read each story and thought a little harder, I said why can’t it be poetry? The pieces spoke to me like a Dalai Lama instructing his students, like Mahatma Gandhi freeing the minds of his faithful followers, and like Confucius spewing powerful proverbs to make the most intelligent person in the world stop to think. Take for instance, “When Majnoon is Laily and Laily Majoon.” Majoon said:

What is it you ask how much do I love, now we have passed that, Majnoon is Laily and Laily is Majnoon, dualism is gone between us, all there is left is Laily, Majnoon is on the shore free from deficiency of being two. 

 I took Majnoon’s response as he and Laily were one and that their spirits had connected to the point of monism. This monism view of their spirits also seemed to take place in many parts of the book as many different religions were discussed. In being somewhat familiar with different religions, it seemed as though religions or people were discussed with relational ties to Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Zoroastrianism, as well as other religions. It was like a book that had an Omnist view on religions. Matter of fact, I honestly thought I was reading biblical stories with short poetic-insights at the end of each story.

 I definitely recommend this book those who want to be enlightened in think in a whole new light.