SERENDIPITY Paperback – February 18, 2023 by Robert Witmer (Author)
Robert Witmer offers an eclectic book of poems mixing in free verse, prose, and some shorter forms (haiku and senryu and haibun-like prose) in this new collection. Also included interspersed in the poems are some of his personal comments as well as quotations.
Amazon USASERENDIPITY Paperback – February 18, 2023 by Robert Witmer (Author)
- Publisher : Cyberwit.net (February 18, 2023)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 101 pages
- ISBN-10 : 9395224525
- ISBN-13 : 978-9395224529
- Item Weight : 5 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.5 x 0.26 x 8.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #2,390,351 in Books
Reviewed by LB Sedlacek
Robert Witmer offers an eclectic book of poems mixing in free verse, prose, and some shorter forms (haiku and senryu and haibun-like prose) in this new collection. Also included interspersed in the poems are some of his personal comments as well as quotations.
He states his purpose for writing the book as his “hope that this book provides the reader with plenty of opportunities for such discoveries” referring to the title and meaning of “serendipity.” He also goes on to say that he’s “happy that I have put into words something of myself and my experiences, and of the world in which I wandered and wondered.”
The book starts off with a quotation like poem. In “The Road Before Me” he seems to offer up his own quote with the first line in this poem. Following that line are several more quotes from a saying to actual people who’ve said something worth remembering. What an interesting as well as inspirational way to open up a book of poetry.
From the poem “The Women in Leh”:
“Tibetan turquoise, the product of snowmelt gone underground,
is a luxury item, on sale in any shop in Leh. Each piece is
unique in its patterning, no different in that way from the
pattern of wrinkles in a person’s face. For the people who live
in the Himalayas these “Sky Stones” have spiritual value.
Their blue-green color brings heaven to earth. They have long
been used as a token of love that protects both giver and
receiver.”
These poems give the impression of a story or tale or even anecdote while also giving the feel and warm emotions of poetry. The poems almost resonate within their own dimension. Witmer seems to create his own vision of what the world is or should be through his poems.
This book offers a poetical adventure but also there’s a comfortable familiarity within so that the reader gets to feel as if he/she is living these poems themselves while they read along line to line. There is a vast and deeper understanding here. Witmer seems as if he wants his readers to overall experience the mysteries and the wonders of life.
From “Song of Myself”:
“sunset
beyond the curve
of the wineglass”
Witmer gives the reader/us a new reason for being within these pages. He lays out the welcome mat for perfect strangers into his world. These poems are a beam of light into a fascinating journey.
~LB Sedlacek is the author of “Swim,” “Night Swim,” “The Poet Next Door,” “Simultaneous Submissions,” and “The Jackalope Committee & Other Short Stories.”