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Here's another sparkling collection of light verse from Keith Stanley-Mallett: over a hundred poems, this time accompanied by some forty excellent pieces from his wife, Elizabeth.
Although the work of the two poets is physically separated in the book, a number of themes are common to both. In particular, their love of nature in all its forms is clearly evident, from the benign "full worthy golden life" of Keith's "Fronds of Willow" to the "lightning strike" of the angler in Elizabeth's "The River"; from the early morning, where "rolling mists run out of steam" in her "Dawn", to his eponymous "rose-lemon skies" which are "A gift left behind As summer storms die".
But as well as the pastoral, intriguingly there is a common cosmic dimension, too. Keith's collection includes a number of contemplative pieces on the universe, such as his majestic depiction of the sun, moving "through the spaces Of the vast galactic wheel". Elizabeth's "Mars", "Jupiter" and "Saturn" each include classical allusions - her portrayal of the evil deeds of Lucifer (in "Mars") is especially chilling: "Lord of destruction, leper of space, Great avenger serpent of old The harvest is in ..."
As with some of his previous work, Keith laments the passing of "old England's" glorious past, a country "proud and regal" and "born of majesty", documenting a catalogue of everyday manifestations of the decline of the country he loves. In "Complacency", Elizabeth makes it clear that she is all for standing firm against the uncaring, seeing lack of action and protest as a "creeping foe, Invidiously gaining foothold".
Look out for some rare gems in this book of jewels. In "A Ship of Shadows", for instance, Keith takes us aboard a mysterious, moonlit barque which "rides the northern skies":
She rides the glowing ghostly clouds
That fly before the wind,
And race across the moon's lit face
Like fish on silver fins.
So what does this book offer the poetry lover? I'd leave it to Elizabeth's "The Poet", which seems to set out not just the couple's objective, but also their literary achievement:
The poet aims to strike a chord
To touch the reader's heart,
Bringing to life, words by verse
In the wordsmith's art.
Richard Fox MA (Lit)
Rating:  [5 of 5 Stars!] |
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