 |
This indigo moon illuminates a landscape that is richly varied. The personal, the social, the pastoral, the political, the scientific, the universal – there is something here for all tastes, all moods.
In Under An Indigo Moon, Keith Stanley-Mallett brings together a body of work written over a period of some forty-six years. Most are neatly-rhymed or half-rhymed pieces, but there is also plain or free verse and this comfortable stylistic approach makes them pleasingly accessible. Many of the poems are beguiling and, having finished one, the reader is often drawn easily into the next.
Having said that, those who prefer their poetry with a sprinkling of pepper will not be disappointed. As one leafs through the book, there is no disguising the poet’s deeply held thoughts and beliefs, which frequently surface above the prevailing calm to jolt one’s attention. This is exemplified, for instance, in “Oh England”, where the poet, railing against the downfall of a country which was once “a green and gentle park”, issues the plea,
My England! Let your banners fly
Sound your trumpet’s message!
Many of the pastorals are quite charming. In “The Oak Wood”, a highly successful five-stanza piece, the poet evokes a place of “fearful natural magic rides When moonlight’s gleaming”, which “the sun and truth illuminates” to reveal “This broad enmeshing canopious High realm of stature”. Here there are occasional echoes of Larkin and, perhaps, Gerard Manley Hopkins (albeit without the sprung rhythm), as in:
Below, where the floor lies dappled in shade
Primrose and anemone hide
There, bells of sky blue parade
While winged bee and butterfly
Intent on nectar, imbibe.
Similar poems, such as “The Red Fox”, “Prelude”, “The Crow” and “Fenland Woods”, are of equal high quality.
Whilst the majority of the poems run to no more than a single page, there are some impressive extended pieces. At the opening of Volume II, for instance, “The Web of Understanding A Personal Philosophy” comprises ten 12-line stanzas, as the poet explores Man’s lost innocence, the mysteries of existence and the role of religion down the ages. In a poem of twenty-two verses, “The Immortal Witness” takes us on a global tour in which a “shadowless” figure bears witness to worldwide pollution, poverty, cruelty, drug dealing, war and tyranny.
But the determining characteristic of this volume is its breadth of subject matter, as it encompasses topics as diverse as space travel, the natural world, politics, psychology, war, modern lifestyles, the poet’s own marital relationship, etc., all with an eye for exquisite detail and all retrieved from a well of genuine emotion. Wordsworth famously referred to the power of “emotion recollected in tranquillity”, and, if that indeed is what defines true poetry, then we have it here in abundance.
Richard Fox MA (Lit)
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
|
|
Shopping Cart