Reviewed by McKenzie Tritt for TeensReadToo.com
Everyone has experienced love, whether giving or receiving. For some it's spending time with their pet. For others, it's sitting down with a book. And for many, love involves other people.
Pat Mora has set out to create a collection of poems capturing the elements of love in its different stages: the initial excitement, the hurt and pain, the healing, and the loving again. These experiences are described through everyday people's jotting down of words, some in familiar languages, others that are foreign. Some poems follow popular methods of rhyming, while others use much less well-known forms.
Each poem, despite their differences, expresses one thing: love.
With nothing but a very basic knowledge of poetry, I still enjoyed this quick read. DIZZY IN YOUR EYES offers many takes on love, not just the expected ones. The first poem drew me in instantly with the simple lines "the letters on the screen don't match the letters I type...No matter what I do, the keys type your name." Each poem was unique, but also went with the others. I especially appreciate this collection because it could be read in one sitting or drawn out over the course of time, revisited again and again.
The thing about poetry is that, depending on the reader, it can be interpreted in many ways. While subtexts provide some guidance, the poems are left to the reader's discretion. That, I believe, is what will make DIZZY IN YOUR EYES an emotional collection for its readers. It reminds us that love is both simple and complicated, and that everyone can experience its effects.
Everyone has experienced love, whether giving or receiving. For some it's spending time with their pet. For others, it's sitting down with a book. And for many, love involves other people.
Pat Mora has set out to create a collection of poems capturing the elements of love in its different stages: the initial excitement, the hurt and pain, the healing, and the loving again. These experiences are described through everyday people's jotting down of words, some in familiar languages, others that are foreign. Some poems follow popular methods of rhyming, while others use much less well-known forms.
Each poem, despite their differences, expresses one thing: love.
With nothing but a very basic knowledge of poetry, I still enjoyed this quick read. DIZZY IN YOUR EYES offers many takes on love, not just the expected ones. The first poem drew me in instantly with the simple lines "the letters on the screen don't match the letters I type...No matter what I do, the keys type your name." Each poem was unique, but also went with the others. I especially appreciate this collection because it could be read in one sitting or drawn out over the course of time, revisited again and again.
The thing about poetry is that, depending on the reader, it can be interpreted in many ways. While subtexts provide some guidance, the poems are left to the reader's discretion. That, I believe, is what will make DIZZY IN YOUR EYES an emotional collection for its readers. It reminds us that love is both simple and complicated, and that everyone can experience its effects.
