Milestones and Visions

Shoutout of the Week #2: Poetry: A Sound of Silent Verses

Mixing it up this week with some poetry! My shoutout today goes to Ashtha @juneamoe who has written some exceptional pieces that are well worth your time if you like short but thought provoking reads. Complex messages, simply stated.

Brevity is a real challenge for any novel writer, so there's so much we can learn from poets and I've been surprised by the level of quality I've seen on Wattpad. I was introduced to this author's work through their second volume of 'A Sound of Silent Verses' and this is what I'll be reviewing. Bear in mind that there is also a previous volume which you should check out if you like what I have to say here!

Much of this collection deals with the nature of poetry and writing in general. For me, this is a big plus as I prefer introspective works to those that try to take on the universe right off the bat. That's not to say there isn't some ambition in these lines: the imagery in this work is exceptional. You might expect this from poetry, but this collection differentiates itself by using some unique and at times perceptive metaphors. For instance, the extended depiction of poets as not only writers but journeymen, musicians, and voices in the darkness of our lives is particularly powerful in 'We – the Poets' which reads like a love song to all those who pour their hearts and souls into the art. A beautifully written tribute.

There's also another connecting thread in these works – the idea of melodies and voices joining with nature in harmony. This is particularly the case in 'To share a dream with...' which begins by comparing life to a lullaby and ends with the persona's wish to connect with others 'from oceans wide, starry nights' and 'follow through the test of time.' The individual and the natural world are presented as one and the same – a message that more of us really do need to bear in mind. This idea is continued in 'The dark before the dawn' which perfectly captures the similarities between life and art: 'Life is like amateur poetry.../What rhyme and rhythm is there to speak of?'

But my favorite entry here has to be 'Why Write?' which is a must read for anyone who experiences doubt about their own abilities as it questions the very nature of our will to create. Ultimately, the poem seems to settle this meaning: it's personal. Everyone writes for different reasons, and it doesn't matter if we feel that 'Every thing, every word, every idea/...has been thought before'. We still do it. We do it because it's a part of who we are. We do it because it's a job we have to do, one that we know is our job. I thought this poem had a beautifully meditative stance on this question, and I thank the poet for writing it.

I thoroughly recommend checking out this collection (and part I!) if you're even remotely interested in poetry. I'm personally having a bit of a poetry Renaissance myself right now and entries like this show me I'm in the right place to engage with interesting, powerful artists working in this genre. Hop on over to @juneamoe and give this author some love, and if your interpretation of any of these poems differs from mine, why not let me know below?