“If You Were Here You Would Feel at Home” By Michael Favala Goldman

“If You Were Here You Would Feel at Home” By Michael Favala Goldman

“If You Were Here You Would Feel at Home” By Michael Favala Goldman

Goldman, an accomplished writer and poet, divides the book into three sections. The way poems are placed in a poetry book are as important as the book as a whole itself.

Amazon USA      

“If You Were Here You Would Feel at Home”

By Michael Favala Goldman

81 pages

ISBN: 978-81-8253-949-5

Cyberwit

Copyright 2022

 

Review by LB Sedlacek

 

This new poetry book is a travel log of poems.  It’s somewhat reminiscent of the tours where a speaker would show pictures and then talk about their travels.  Of course, these days you can adventure most anywhere via the internet.  It takes care and skill to help a reader take off somewhere in a poem.

Goldman, an accomplished writer and poet, divides the book into three sections.  The way poems are placed in a poetry book are as important as the book as a whole itself.

The author’s poem “Dawn” opens the book.  In it, he quite cleverly welcomes the reader as well as the day.  Lines from the poem:  “Regardless I’m still here to invent / myself from yesterday’s leftovers.”  His way of writing poetry is quite clearly his own, and that’s a good thing.

Goldman uses visuals through his words and/or the placement of the poem on the page.  He examines a wide variety of subjects or places such as the craft fair, Denmark, weasels, Adam and Eve, and even the future. 

When you read his poems, you will not only understand maybe things you haven’t thought about before but you will also begin to believe in what’s possible.  He writes with a natural flow able to balance place with emotion.

His poem “Sword Swallower” is another visual poem like his poem “Crux.”  The former poem is arranged to look like a sword, while the latter looks like a cross.  Goldman again takes his poetry to a higher plain by being able to incorporate the white space, use of words, and placement on the page to further elevate his verses.

From the poem “Copenhagen”: 

“I was walking in the city /
feeling lonely with people /
on the sidewalk being careful /
about bicycles and cars and tourists /
coming the other way and I smelled /
perfume who knows from where /
there were some flowers /
climbing a trellis on a brick façade”

The author pulls you into his remarkable view and world with these lines. 

From the poem “Christiania at 45”:
“There’s a wild, medicinal smell /
mixing with dampness of the dirt road /
as the drizzle falls on Pusher Street /
which is not a metaphor, but a place /
where photographs are not permitted”

That poem really opens ones eyes to what can go on in a big city.

Goldman is the author of several other poetry books and chapbooks.  His writing has an element of surprise to it, but it also offers an oasis of words to the reader.  These poems are a refuge for poetry lovers everywhere.  And yes you will feel at home reading them.

 

 

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~LB Sedlacek’s latest poetry book is “Ghost Policy.”  She is also the author of the poetry collections “I’m No ROBOT,” “Simultaneous Submissions,” “Swim,” “Words and Bones,” and “The Poet Next Door.”  Her non-fiction books include “The Poet Protection Plan,” “The Traveling Postcard,” and “Electric Melt.”  Her short story collection is entitled “Four Thieves of Vinegar & Other Short Stories.”  www.lbsedlacek.com