“Martin’s World” by Robert L. Martin

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Cyberwit.net (April 28, 2022)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 143 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 8182539064
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-8182539068
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 8.5 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.34 x 8.5 inches

Reviewed by LB Sedlacek

Robert L. Martin says he is glad to be a poet.  He also says he loves collecting words.  His enthusiasm for poetry is evident beginning with the Preface to his book. 

He continues in his Preface saying that his world is a receptacle for these words.  He states he wrote over 2000 poems in the last 20 years so he had plenty to choose from for his book.  

He starts off the book with the poem “Mother Rain.”  He follows that with “Poet Engine.”  This poem has the line “Poets we are with poet engines.”  He certainly writes as if he’s a poet with an engine offering up a wide variety of poems. 

There are occasional pictures included that add striking visuals to the poems they are paired with.  The book is progressive and moving and delivers nicely into this poet’s world. 

“The Longest Poem Ever Written” is only 2 lines.  “The Love Machine” conjures up images of an out of this world love experience.  “Yikes!!!” pops around with lines of all the things that might make you go crazy.  These are all examples of how Martin balances his verses within his clever world. 

He uses these lines in some of his poems:  “where the sky kisses the Universe,” “Walls are fuel for the fire inside the heart,” and “to fire up the stars at dusk.”  They give a sort of glow to his poems, a passion, and they take you to a different place. 

His verses have an original flow.   He has a good ear for how each line, each word enhances each idea of every poem.

From the poem “Martin’s World”:

“Come and tunnel from
the light into the dark,
the avenue to the sea of deep secrets
past the smiles and heavy drapes,
the yeses, the noes, the indecisives,
the me riding on my own mind”

From the poem “Martin’s Winding”:

“Up ahead along the country road,
Thru’ the clearing of Maple’s abode,
Where the winding around a certain bend
Becomes my winding, my forestial friend.”

The poems have a distinct style and he incorporates free verse and/or rhyming into his poems.  These two poems (above) seem to be from the author’s point of view (not to mention one of them is the title poem) which gives the reader a unique entryway into his creative process and world views.  That’s something special, to be able to get into the writer’s mind to see, to understand, to enjoy where they are coming from and where they are taking you within their written words.

Martin collects images and rolls them into poetical journeys of emotion, mystery and wisdom.  His book is vibrant and gutsy – he takes the world, Martin’s World, and definitely makes it his own through poetry!