I was thrilled to receive the following 2 5 star reviews of “The Girl Who Wasn’t There And Other Poems”:
“It is with great expectation that I started to read, “The Girl Who Wasn’t There And other Poems” by K. Morris. Even more enticing was the quote on the book’s
rear cover from Oscar Wilde, “We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars”.
Each poem represents a picture or better even, a snapshot from an old Polaroid of life’s other side which makes Wilde quote seem apropos as he knew firsthand
the changes life could take given his troubles in his later years. But aside from that as I read these poems another voice spoke to me, that of Edgar Allan
Poe. The wit of Oscar Wilde crossed with the macabre of Poe. This is dark poetry and one might find themselves a little too familiar with the situations
our subjects find themselves in.
We are given a hearty portion of love lost turned to its sleazy side; disillusionment with love and the mask used to portray this illusion as it feast
upon our soul in waking hours. But we’re reminded that we all turn to dust no matter what our accomplishments as we ask the ‘London Rain’ to wash away
this London hell we find ourselves in.
In ‘The Hypocrite’ we see a fine upstanding man, quick to condemn, above reproach, but for the grace of God it would be he instead of them.
‘The Spider and the Fly’ displays how each is doomed, both sides of life are found at fault.
We do see some light at the end of these gray skies as in the ‘Wit of a Gentlemen Suitor to His Beloved’ and the metaphor of the wind, the breeze to bring
about the hopes of our better angels.
I read ‘Venus in Firs’ and thought this might be pointing to Wilde himself and the notoriety that beseeched him.
‘The Fox and the Bear’ brought me back to the conditions of life and how we could find ourselves at the opposing end.
‘Handbags and Shoes’ brings us to the material gain we long for and the things we do for their gain.
Death is exposed in ‘The Dying Year’ and ‘Waking Early’ and in the closing line of ‘Saturday Morning’.
In the poems ‘Dolls’, ‘Drowning in Nightmare’ and ‘Digging’, I’m reminded more than ever of the effect Edgar Allan Poe may have had on this book of poetry.
In ‘Young Lady, Older Man’ we see the passing of any real feelings for both sides, the banality of it all. In this we return to the shame and pain, an
endless path as the bed post are witness to all that has gone wrong in love.
And for me the saving grace of it all, defined in the poem ‘Dog’.
This is a fine collection of poetry sure to capture the reader and find them at the mercy of these written words”. (For the review please visit http://www.amazon.com/review/R3J0CCGHV37EQ/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0155KSKOC).
“A lovely collection of poems about living in the gutter of life. I find the poems touching and thought provoking, some made me laugh others are more serious
and sad. My favourites were the poems: The Whispering Wind, Masks and Innocence Lost”. (For the review please visit http://www.amazon.com/review/R1Q1N4ER7HNH5O/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm?ie=UTF8&ASIN=B0155KSKOC).
Many thanks to both reviewers for taking the time to read and review “The Girl Who Wasn’t There And Other Poems”.
Kevin
