"Am I alone here? Why does communication have to stop? Why do friendships end? Why once so close and now so distant? Do the answer to these questions even matter?" An excerpt from "What About Forever."
Eric Bruce Smith's The Hidden Peace in Poems is an uncommon poetry book that held me enthralled until I finish indulging my relatable emotions in it. It's human-oriented, it communicates deep realities about human issues and conditions, and several other themes encapsulated in it.
This book is a collection of prose poems, and some short stories that have lots of cogent information to convey, it's so distinctive, didactic, illustrative, and philosophical. Some titles touch on the themes of acceptance and commitment, the making of a writer, a heartfelt letter of a father to his daughter. Others touch on the subject of longing, waiting, expectancy, and its aftermath emotions while embracing hope and perseverance, this is one of the favorite subjects that I seem to love as far as poetry is concerned.
From reading this piece of poetry collection, it's obvious that the author is so knowledgeable and vast at expounding on the in-depth descriptive features and issues of love, there are deep realities, and doubtless facts about love, relationships, and marriages that were mentioned in this book. The book also contains a brief list of talented individuals from Brookfield village.
There are deep questions raised about the truthiness of the human person, many of which had me mulling as I read it, allowing inquisitiveness to linger long after the last lines have been read. It's a fitting approach, as curiosity is essential in our very lifeblood, and as the book posit, the things we seek, and ultimately find, often depends on our own unique experiences and perspective.
Some of my most admirable poems within this collection are those titled, Wait For It, The Ones, What About Forever, Feeling Unneeded, Tell Your Story, The Writer, Someone Else's Plum Tree, Longing To Be Heard, Enduring Pain, "Fragile, Vulnerable & Exposed," and several other gripping titles. I feel like this book is a book that needs to be read carefully and slowly to fully understand the message that the author seeks to convey through his raw-arresting, transcendent poetry.
In a world where love is misplaced for something else, and seen as a "trade by barter," where lies are so predominant, and love is built on falsity, deceitfulness, and material possession. In a world where there is no more sincerity, truthfulness, loyalty, and peace. Eric Bruce's poetry came in as an observer, with a sight that captures the far, near, and hidden peace and solutions. It acts as a savior, a questionnaire, he expounds on different things that pertain to human existence, hatred, psychology, and I was taken aback by his level of wisdom and expertness.
All in all, Eric Bruce Smith's book is a fantastic read that I'd recommend to lovers of wisdom, and poetry. I underlined some quotes and lines which I'm going to imbibe later in my life. There is more to this book than I have described. The author's writing style is distinctive, and most of the poems are characterized by blank verses. Thoughtful and wise, the book left me feeling quietly contemplative, and reminiscent of choices that I've made and paths I've taken throughout my own life. If you want to ask questions about human nature, you'd find absolute reality in Eric Bruce Smith's The Hidden Peace in Poems.
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