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A review by kalira
Everlasting Spring: 101 Poems for Every Season of Life by Sonya Matejko
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
4.5
The poems through Summer (poems about dreams & desires) feel positive and soft, but in a joyous, heartfelt way. I'd pick out favourites to name but there would be at least half a dozen from this section alone! (That said, the very first one is a lovely start, and Mirroring The Sun was a standout.)
The poems through Autumn (poems about change & doing less) feel gentle and quietly energised; a time of waiting but in the sense of living that rest fully, as well as looking ahead to the time when it has passed. Again it's difficult to pick favourites, but The Absence Of Significance was a standout! (As was Not To Be Continued. Look at that, already broke my 'I'll pick one per section' plan.)
The poems through Winter (poems about troubles & triumph) may have been my absolute favourite section - perhaps they strike truer ('harder' feels wrong in this context, they are not hitting fiercely), or perhaps I am just in such a season in my life that they felt very true to me or very needed just now. They feel encouraging, acknowledging strife without sinking to the hurt. Starting again from the very first one, but The Pace of Healing, as well as Just a Carry-On, and You Showed Them, and Once Upon A Day were standouts. (I couldn't narrow it down further on this set!)
The poems through Spring (poems about growth & coming alive) were perhaps my least favourite (ironically), though still nice. Perhaps some of that feeling stems from the fact that I am, indeed, not in such a season myself at the moment. Delivery Notification, and They Were Wrong About You were standouts in this section.
(25 poems per season, except for Spring, which had 24? And then 1 extra at the end, The Beginning. Total of 100 which has me wondering if one was missing from the ARC copy in Spring!)
Some of the rhymes and rhythms feel simple or blatant, but those that did felt very much intentional in that, reaching out and making the connection easy.
I haven't used the prompts at the end of each season, but (very unlike how I usually feel about such things, which is to be not particularly snagged and just move on) I think I might in future. I think I'll also come back and read more slowly or page to different seasons intentionally, next time.
(And I might actually want the hardcopy version as well. . .)
The poems through Autumn (poems about change & doing less) feel gentle and quietly energised; a time of waiting but in the sense of living that rest fully, as well as looking ahead to the time when it has passed. Again it's difficult to pick favourites, but The Absence Of Significance was a standout! (As was Not To Be Continued. Look at that, already broke my 'I'll pick one per section' plan.)
The poems through Winter (poems about troubles & triumph) may have been my absolute favourite section - perhaps they strike truer ('harder' feels wrong in this context, they are not hitting fiercely), or perhaps I am just in such a season in my life that they felt very true to me or very needed just now. They feel encouraging, acknowledging strife without sinking to the hurt. Starting again from the very first one, but The Pace of Healing, as well as Just a Carry-On, and You Showed Them, and Once Upon A Day were standouts. (I couldn't narrow it down further on this set!)
The poems through Spring (poems about growth & coming alive) were perhaps my least favourite (ironically), though still nice. Perhaps some of that feeling stems from the fact that I am, indeed, not in such a season myself at the moment. Delivery Notification, and They Were Wrong About You were standouts in this section.
(25 poems per season, except for Spring, which had 24? And then 1 extra at the end, The Beginning. Total of 100 which has me wondering if one was missing from the ARC copy in Spring!)
Some of the rhymes and rhythms feel simple or blatant, but those that did felt very much intentional in that, reaching out and making the connection easy.
I haven't used the prompts at the end of each season, but (very unlike how I usually feel about such things, which is to be not particularly snagged and just move on) I think I might in future. I think I'll also come back and read more slowly or page to different seasons intentionally, next time.
(And I might actually want the hardcopy version as well. . .)