Poetry for Grief, Gratitude, and Reverence
This is not the first poetry anthology written that contrasts different ideas on a grand scale. In this case, the contrast is not meant for emphasis but rather for a blending of language, as sentence structure and tone are unexpectedly similar between Grief and Reverence, as well as between Reverence and Gratitude. Reverence is what binds poetry together, as if the reader does not have reverence for the imagery at hand, then they cannot feel the emotional impact of the grief and gratitude, and the novel as a whole tends toward the positive side of emotions, the adaptability of the human soul to comprehend and overcome pain, and to fully absorb numinous beauty.
One of the poems in the middle of the book about gratitude, "Poetics," is a poet reflecting on how truly great poetry is alive, and that the author cannot take full credit for the vibrancy. An author is merely a ship being carried to beauty by the sea swells of inspiration, delivering an object for consideration to the reader. The reader must be able to infer their own revelation, separate from the poet’s limited opportunity to impart an idea, in order that the work may have any untarnishable quality. The emotion of gratitude is imparted without the word being employed. The poet is clearly glad that they can share the burden of meaning with the reader.
An earlier passage, Talking to Grief, uses simpler language but conveys an idea of equal importance. Grief is likened to a stray dog, difficult to welcome, and requiring immense effort to see any benefit. But in the end, just as a dog can become so integral to your life that you cannot imagine its absence, so can grief be an anchoring notion and a source of strength. One of the final poems that John Brehm includes is a passage that attempts to condense the impact of The Great Divorce’s ending within only a few paragraphs. The poem is about man’s search for something that is truly lowly and without value, something by which he can measure his own significance. However, in his failure to find value in something, he sees how all animals were created with God’s meticulous care, and he realizes how infinite his own value is in the eyes of God, and how he has been made greater than these other entities.
The Chase Verdict is this: The book contains a focus on the unique style necessary to convey numinous concepts, and is therefore helpful in formulating your own perspectives on these concepts. However, in terms of poetry, its only strength is the resulting contemplation, while the quality of the writing itself is not on par with many more notable works. I cannot recommend it for anyone seeking satisfaction on every page, as the value is only apparent upon completion.