Book Review for Garden Walks: Hand in Hand by Gary W. Burns

Garden Walks: Hand in Hand, by Gary W. Burns, is a book of poetry about the iridescence of new beginnings, despite knowing that it has to end.

The book is separated into five parts. Colorful Blooms describes the start of youth, of freedom, a time of when reckless emotions were the pinnacle of our childhood. This Backyard Garden illustrates the delights of staying in a backyard, where friendships and other companionships are born. Garden Paths is about how people from every walk of life can sometimes come together, only to move on with their lives. Seasons Cascading shows us that when time passes, that with all the elegance that we may have, people still see us for our true selves. In Perennial Days, we come to the end of our lives, and it shows us that faith and devotion are one of the most important in what we consider life.

Never once did I think that spring could embody so much. From the different flowers that represent the stages in our lives, to the elegance of the season itself, it’s something that I can’t help but fall in love with. There are different emotions that I first saw when I read each of these poems, from knowing that this would all come to an end, and yet still choosing to live in the moment; it takes a certain kind of resolve to do that, one that a lot of us take for granted.

Burns forced me to look at things in another perspective, all the while introducing new ideas and interweaving them into age old concepts. As such, I would give this book a 4.0 out of 5.0 stars, and would recommend it to those who enjoy The Heart’s Lullaby by Natalie Ducey and Meaningless Destruction by Shannan Mitchener.