I don’t usually post two reviews immediately one after the other, but I was asked to review this collection of poems, so here is another.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

This book of poems comprises thoughtful images. Kevin Morris writes beautifully about his life experiences. He contemplates mortality in his poems, but not in a morbid way. 

His thoughts from hospital, where he underwent an operation for a brain abscess, give us an insight into his thoughts on this close brush with the Grim Reaper.

The poems in memory of his friend are touching. Here is one of my favourites.

Your Shadow 

On a day in early spring 
I heard the birds sing 
As we walked together 
And, as we walked, 
I wished to talk 
With you my dear old friend. 
But it was my shadow 
That walked in sunshine 
For you have crossed the line 
Where all things end.

I cannot cry 
Or go where you have gone, 
Yet our friendship lives on 
And one day I will become 
A shadow in sun 
And shade 
For life is made 
Of fleeting shadows. 
And I know 
That I must one day go 
Where you have gone. 
But other men 
May see my shadow 
Walking beside them 
And know me 
And their own mortality.

I also enjoyed the one he wrote to his guide dog, Apollo.

Dog and Human (Dedicated to Apollo) 

You know not what I write 
As day turns to night 
But lie near me 
Unaware of our shared mortality.
We love our walks. 
You just do
What dogs do— 
While I have my thoughts 
Of endings 
And how I envy you!

I enjoy Morris’s unusual rhyme schemes. They make the poems interesting and unusual. And I love the cover.

This is a wonderful collection of poems, and I fully recommend them to you. Even if you’re not a poetry person,  you will be sure to find some you enjoy. They will give you food for thought.

I give it 5*

The explanation of my ranking of books doesn’t fit with poetry as it’s for novels.

Have you read ;any of Kevin Morris’s poetry? What did you think of it? Please leave your comments in the comments box.