Memento Mori: poems

by Charles Coe

Memento Mori is a meditation on mortality, change and loss. Rather than being simply somber, this volume observes our human condition through a poetic kaleidoscope, with glimpses of irony and humor that offer a refreshing contrast to the more difficult moments. Coe is a storyteller who writes with compassion, insight and a razor-sharp eye for detail.

Genres: Poetry

100 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2019

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Coe is a poet of the human landscape and a writer who meditates on the unexpected, passing moment. In a variety of forms, these poems reflect his wry observations of city life, memories of family, love of music, and open attention to fleeting human experience in all its sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous universality. Disclosure: I am FB friends with the author.

“In a quiet corner of the supermarket parking lot/ an employee in red t-shirt/ kneels on a piece of cardboard,/ bows, then rises to speak the holy words,/ his view of Mecca unimpeded/ by the dumpster and unpainted wooden fence.” Prayer

“...This is not the life I would have chosen./ But I will try to keep an open hand/ for the gifts it spreads each day across my path,/ like Easter eggs hidden in the grass.” Inventory (for the poets of Norfolk Correctional Institution).

[K.C. Maher · Rating 5 out of 5]

The forms and constraints of poetry often elude me, yet each of these fifty poems resonate, not only with sorrow and joy, but with human potential and hope. In one poem, Coe's whole-hearted words convey the shared emotions of two strangers when their eyes meet. In another he wonders about a woman he loved and lost; where and who is she now? Others strike me as intrigues whispered through dreams. And all of them reveal what seem to be newfound memories that we all share.

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Authentic and accessible poetry. Compassionate and deep. I particularly enjoyed the poems in Part Iii.

[Audrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not the biggest poetry reader, actually, not at all. But, on a whim, I picked up this collection and really enjoyed it. These poems are intimate and honest with a pleasing rhythm. And, some are definitely laugh out loud funny and relatable. Most of all, you get a definite sense of place to those familiar with Cambridge and Boston.

[Dan Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a beautiful book of poetry. These are the poems of an older man, a man who knows all too well that most of his life is behind him, and that each day is precious, each moment without an ache or a pain is to be cherished, that the here and now should be lived to the fullest. The past lives on, in memories of moments with family and friends and old lovers, and each day brings new moments to remember and cherish: a moment on a train stalled on a bridge over the Charles River, a little snow-suited kid working his way through snow, a gentle transaction with a cashier, a young woman offering her seat to the older man, the sound of a woman’s laughter on an old Bill Evans “Live at the Village Vanguard” album, the moments that make up a life. Like the moments we take to read these poems...Thank you, Charles Coe.