Jan Miklaszewicz's Blog, page 13

OM

We’re one, all connected, forget self and ego, look inward, meditate, for hours, alone. 

MICRO POETRY

Haute cuisine sometimes, gnawed off bats’ heads now and then, 
lunchables mostly. 

DISORIENTED

She and he stand back to back and bolster where the other lacks and parry well the world’s attacks. 
She and he stand face to face and put each other in their place and no one calls this a disgrace. 

BOOK REVIEW - FORTY FOUR

Smart and penetratingReviewed by R.C. Gibson of Indies Today

A thoughtful guided meditation that helps readers examine their unique perspective and small place in the world, Forty Four is a special compilation of poetry and artwork. Eccentric and thoroughly contemporary in composition, Miklaszewicz forgoes the weight of traditional poetry. Rather than musings on life, death and love, Forty Four jumps right into controversy-laden subjects. Without judgment, topics range from cancel culture and casual hookups to the toll that modern living takes on us all. Readers will likely discover personal meaning in their own circumstances as they consider the poems, with each succinct illustration and poem speaking to a wide variety of topics and interests. Tarnished, even without pithy artwork, perfectly captures the burden of guilt. Old Flame is able to reduce modern communications eloquence to the equivalent of caveman grunts in under seventy words. Ever a fan of subtlety, I laughed out loud at the clever wordplay when coming across the phrase ‘a tinder lover’ in Mannequins.
You know that feeling when your grandfather laments walking to school in the snow, uphill… both ways? The moment when you look off the precipice and realize that there’s nowhere to go but forward, or down, depending on how you look at things. Jan Miklaszewicz has cleverly captured these shifting emotions with astute perceptiveness. Varied topics will keep you on your toes, but the brevity of the works will keep the book in your hands, afraid of what you might miss if you put it down. The inclusion of intelligent, sometimes cheeky illustrations both serve to drive home the intentions of the poems and also deliver a few good punchlines. Smart and penetrating, Forty Four feels like a lively freedom anthem for people of a certain age. If you’re looking for a collection of saucy, thought-provoking, wry poems, you’ve finally found it. Forty Four will make you shake your head, throw your hands in the air, grit your teeth and smile.
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DUALITY DUEL

He speaks of his soul and of oneness with all things: something has to give. 

HISS

Unmistakable, that ring pull sound, that peel, crack, and hiss: quickens a drinker’s pulse, draws a prude’s sharp glance, raises an eyebrow or two at best, breaks a promise or a heart at worst. 

BONER

Shameless skeletons, all over one another. Jesus, get a tomb! 

NEVER

Never have I wanted to eviscerate you, I’m pure, I’m pure, I’m pure! 
When our petty little quarrels we overdo, I’m pure, I’m pure, I’m pure! 
Never have I cheated, never have I lied, 
Never have I plotted, never have I spied, 
Never have I prodded, never have I pried, 
I’m pure, I’m pure, I’m pure! 
And never have I taken the easy way out, I’m pure, I’m pure, I’m pure! 
Or propagated seeds of dissent and doubt, I’m pure, I’m pure, I’m pure! 
My heart is a goldmine shining bright, 
My soul is an angel garbed in white, 
My mind is a beacon leaking light, 
I’m pure, I’m pure, I’m pure! 

BOOK REVIEW - REVELATIONS PART II

Revelations - Part II by Zachary Valtschanoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Revelations Part II is a real cornucopia of elemental imagery. Eastern spiritual thought meets Norse mythology, great archetypes collide, and in the midst of it all stands the writer, somehow weaving these elements together as part of a personal journey.

I found this second instalment more artistic than the first, the vision and the writing more mature. The figurative language and symbolism are also stronger (the kindling of spinal flames, the mind growing new teeth) and I really got the sense of an ongoing inner battle, particularly between the pull of the annihilating, comforting mother and the steely, unknowable father.

Zachary presents ideas I’m familiar with in the sort of poetic language missing from more academic works (the Cosmic Egg and Great Mother stuff makes more sense here than it does coming from Erich Neumann, for instance). I really enjoy this as it gives more room for interpretation.

And that’s about all I can say for now: this isn’t a one-and-done kind of read, and I will be coming back to it after the final instalment for second and third reads.

View all my reviews

POETS

You may approach us with your praise or indignation, 
You may be delighted or dismayed by our reply, 
But if you grasp this now it might be for the better, 
Our words aren’t us any more than the weather is the sky.