Tittle: Treasures of the Heart
Pub Date: Jan. 18, 2024
ISBN: 9781960684806
Pages: 38
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Sept. 23, 2024
Categories: BODY, MIND & SPIRIT | FAMILY & RELATIONSHIPS

Forward’s poetry collection charts some of the highs and lows of love.

In these poems, affairs of the heart take several forms—emotional salvation for those who need it, the answer to some of life’s thorny problems, or the key to well-being. Various narrators tell their beloveds, “I find it very hard to function in life without you,” and “Every vein in my body carries your love,” and “You make me live my dream.” The speakers here address both male and female objects of their affection, expressed through imagery that relies heavily on the senses: “I love you so much that I’ve lost my sight…I can taste your love.”

But as love giveth, it also taketh away, and Forward describes heartbreak in sad detail (“Please don’t leave me gazing into space without you / I feel so out of place…How can I survive life without you”). Each relationship’s ending is dramatically mourned, communicated through age-old symbols of grief, like shadows and tears. It’s never the speaker’s choice to part from their beloved, nor does their love waver despite the fact that it’s no longer requited.

Unfortunately, Forward often employs trite expressions to describe love’s effects—like “I love you like a fish loves the sea,” “I would have to say you are my dream girl,” and love being a form of enslavement. Occasionally, Forward includes unique, memorable conceits, such as, “Your Botox lips force me to feel the love.” The collection pays sincere homage to love, but it doesn’t explore its darker aspects, like jealousy; it simply maintains a light tone throughout.

Fervent ruminations on romance hobbled by bland prose.