“Hope Across the Seasons” draws lines of comparison between love, optimism in its various phases with the different geographical seasons. With an eye of observation and sophistication, the poet enlarges her daily fancies and thoughts.
“I carry hope
In my heart like a seed you planted
In the depths of my womb
In the cravings of a tinge of tamarind, tolerance
And constant sprinkling of prayers
I carry hope
In the morning sickness breaking trance
And the long hours on easy chairs
I carry hope
In the midnight hungers
To panic attacks I overcome
I carry hope
In the uneasiness of waiting
To the excitement of the ultimate outcome
I carry hope…..”
Majorly, the book takes inspiration from the changing facets of seasons, the shifts in tonalities and experiences associated with it. It talks about love in its most vulnerable of forms, the feeble and fierce aspects of it alike, and it also harps on the interaction between the two lovers. The poems turn out to be a fearless mode of expression of the poet, evolving to be an unburdening of her most secretive emotions.
The book divides
itself into four segments—Summer, Autumn, Fall and Spring. In each of these
sections, the poet personifies the feelings pertaining to that season. The
Summer section comes right at the beginning, and here the narrator resorts to
unhindered pure elaborations of her romantic feelings. She talks of the warm,
fuzzy feelings of love, the kind that shines light upon the darkest corners of
your personality. The love expressed here is untainted and optimistic, and they
promise of a new beginning. It is fresh and breezy, and it holds you close,
offering you solace. Therefore, just like the afternoon sun rendering its
warmth and comfort, the poems here instigate happy feelings and hopeful vibes.
As we approach the
Autumn section, doubts and dualities starts to creep into the poet’s tone. Here
she is often sceptical about her companion, and she questions her decisions. She
longs to find solace within herself, but is often obstructed by thoughts that
pull her back. The notion that dawns in this segment is therefore of plurality
and ambiguity. She thinks over the loyalty of her companion, and is very thoughtful
over the idea of love being the seed of something wonderful. Just like autumn
prepares the tree for the dreary winter, the thoughts in this section also
points at a larger dryness.
“I wait for you
Like the ruins of a castle dilapidated
By the tick and the tock of the clock.
The castle which once stood majestically
Bubbling with life,
Now waits eagerly for the only flock of
pigeons
To return home.”
The Fall section is almost similar to the Autumn section, except for the fact that here, the feelings are more refined and well-articulated. The poet doesn’t shy away from accepting the doubts in her mind, and she fearlessly accuses her lover of leaving her to struggle with her conflicts. The poet undertakes a tone that signifies cracking of hope and loss of optimism. She dwells in a zone of indecisiveness and feels mistaken.
After all this, the book concludes with the Spring Section. Just like nature blooms in its glory sprouting from the dreariness of winter, here the poems portray the narrator rising from her ashes. Harping on the theme of self-acceptance and self-realization, she gets a grip over herself. She attempts to evolve and grow, and explore her deepest emotions. It inspires us to accept and move on.
“Hope Across the Seasons” is not just poetry.
It includes one-liners, random thoughts, free verse styled poetic juggleries. The
poet hasn’t endeavoured much to consolidate or methodically arrange her
thoughts. Instead of being the part of a steady flow, they put themselves
forward in the form of stray tributaries. Scattered and misaligned, they perhaps
could have had more compositeness and binding. The sectional division of the
poems was also not perfectly aligned with the central theme being talked about.
They often went here and there, and would come back to point with further discussions.
Another visible downside was the overall poetic feel to the book. Although they
come under ‘modern poetry’, they still should have had more multi-interpretational
vantage points and literary beauty. To me, they felt extremely hasty and often
jolted forward without proper exploration of the initial idea. Recommended to people
who want to have a light read of poetry, not to the ones who are looking for
deep, viscous poems.
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