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Random Reflections
by Brian Ponderis
Format: 5′ x 8′ ~ Perfect Bound
21 Poems ~ 19 Pen & Ink Illustrations ~ 40 pages
Price: $8.00
Publisher: Book Leaf Publishing
ISBN #: 9789363317727
To Order: Amazon.com
Reviewed by Michael Escoubas
From the “Get-go” Random Reflections, piqued my interest. This accessible volume invited my mind to fly in directions “randomly” without hindrance or interference. I returned to my youth living and working on farms in central Illinois. There sunrises, sunsets, shooting stars, broken friendships, my Cocker Spaniel named Mac, a cat named Sweet Pea, small town cafes in towns with no stop lights … such things populated my life.
Style & Layout
Most of the poems are written in rhymed quatrains. Discreet pen and ink drawings appear on all facing pages of the layout. They added to my overall enjoyment of the work.
Ponderis’s work loosely follows the traditional ballad in terms of line scansion. They are written in iambic tetrameter showing a four-stress line. By way of example:
So LET us CHERish each SUNrise NEW
In the ballad form alternating lines are usually written in iambic trimeter. However, Ponderis is not a slave to form. He allows himself creative latitude.
The poet seems comfortable in his own skin, as it were, writing this format. I enjoy reading rhymed verse. Few poets go to the trouble these days. I’m confident that over time Brian’s verse will grow both in sophistication and in technique.
Poems that Speak to Me
I recall, in my youth, awakening to each new day with a surge of energy as I looked forward to all the “gifts” that “Sunrise” would bring:
As darkness fades and night takes flight
A new day dawns, with radiant light
The sky alight with hues of gold
As the sun begins to take hold
The poem continues developing themes of the world “awakening,” to the songs of birds, and trees “swaying” in early morning breezes. For Ponderis, the sun rises “majestically,” as it climbs to its appointed rendezvous in the vast reaches of endless blue. The last quatrain captures how I felt before leaping from my bed to scarf down a bowl of Wheat Chex:
So let us cherish each sunrise new
And all the wonders it brings in view
For every dawn is a chance to start
A day full of hope and joy and heart.
I noted above my love for Mac, my family’s loyal Cocker Spaniel. Often, when a veil of discouragement whether real or imagined settled on me, Mac showed up unannounced. He would climb onto my lap, nuzzle close to my face. “A Best Friend,” captures my young emotions:
A dog’s love is pure and true,
A bond that nothing can undo
They are faithful companions until the end,
Four-legged family members, loyal friends.
“A Day at the Café,” is among my favorites. The poem’s protagonist enjoys watching people come and go as he observes them through the café’s window. They are like “fleeting dreams,/ Each with their stories, like flowing streams.” For the poet, “The bustling city”/ becomes “a backdrop of life,/ With joy and sorrow, love and strife.” Here, in the private reverie of life, the poet sips his coffee “As time unfolds, an exquisite tapestry.” This poem, and so many others, hit me where I live.
For a close-up view of the color and mystery of a luna moth, don’t miss “The Moonlit Moth,” which has “wings a vibrant hue,/ A shade of green so true.” “A Broken Friend,” touched my heart with pathos for the poet’s friend whom he desires to help “embrace the light and find hope again.”
“Hummingbird” brings closure to this fine debut volume. For Brian Ponderis, the hummingbird represents this poet’s outlook on life:
A new day, a brand-new light
As your wings soar and our hearts beat
We take stock of our lives
Whether love, loss, or plight.
Random Reflections is anything but “random.” This is a thoughtful, purposeful collection which has altered this reviewer’s take on life. Five stars on this one … for sure!
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