Friday, 13 October 2023

A Review Of “Beyond The Pyre”


There is a purpose that burns within us all… a fire that longs for expression and validity. At times it burns without even being identified,… a longing, existing to redeem sufferings into something new and precious as life itself.  This refinement burns brightly within an incineary collection of poems by Imelda Garcia entitled “Beyond The Pyre”, published by Wheelsong Books.


Imelda possesses an exuberant edge that sets her apart from everyday authors. A poet in every sense of the word, she is able to extrapolate images out of emotions… weave stories out of feelings, and discern truths out of deception.


Her topics maneuver between the diverse and the divine. She is no one trick pony, touching upon such hot button subjects as climate change, war, poverty, racism, women’s rights, and child advocacy. She also celebrates her Latino background exquisitely through the eyes of an endlessly expressive spirit. Imelda is bold, and writes with a distinct expression that gives every poem her signature. 


Her years of experience with tragedy and celebrations as a mother come to life in such poems as “Momma Doesn’t Want”, “Bolt” and “Woman Of Wonder”, in which she elegantly celebrates her daughter. She delicately touches upon childbirth and the ups and downs of motherhood here in “Womb”: 


“mothers sow seeds from the womb

tend then watch seedlings grow 

nurturing throughout life’s expanse 

often while consumed with sorrow”


The spiritual  aspects of her poetic voice are also evident in selections with such enthralling  titles as “What If God’s Not One Of Us”, “Untouchables”, “Rock Of My Altar”, and “Oh J.C.!” In “I Thirst” she passionately petitions to us all to become aware of our own precious redeeming vulnerabilities by addressing her own:


“I and mine call on your humanity

though He might have said it first

look to your souls, you’ll see

I am a human being, and I thirst”


Able to cover so many subjects, she ducks and dodges jabs of the mundane like a skilled prize fighter, unafraid to challenge any metaphor. She dances with death in poems like “Above Crosses” or “Forbidden Fruit”, and even explores the cosmos itself with titles like “Celestial”, “Of Stardust” and “Ethereal”.


Her love poems soar as she professes a most solid adoration for her beloved husband. Balancing between heavenly and earthly desires, Garcia knows romance where it comes to for better or for worse, or as she would describe it, “… to go for gold and failed to fall”, a fine line from “In Heaven”. From passion to endearing forever love beyond the physical, she does not fail to deliver.


Her dedication to poetry is evident in offerings like “La Poeta”, “On The Swing”, and the following excerpt from “Abstract Stamp”:


“…The art I now create for prosperity 

Are words, I hope with clarity

Impress upon future review

My definition of my view


Having shared on podium stalls

On stage, in schools, library halls

I try to stamp a liberal mark

On countless minds who hear my spark” 


No one writes quite like Imelda Garcia. Her use of short staccato phrasings, set with a lush use of metaphors, paints a mosaic of meaningful word murals that are both enjoyable to read and practical to interpret.


“Beyond The Pyre” is exactly that… a white hot refinement beyond our earthly reality into an understanding of illuminating truths, both profound and utterly beautiful. 



Matt Elmore


Available now on Amazon


Beyond the Pyre
https://a.co/d/5vlnfqY

2 comments:

  1. Imelda Zapata Garcia13 October 2023 at 14:22

    A most humbling review. I am ever grateful to you Matt Elmore, for the support of my work. Wheelsong Books, Steve Wheeler, is a blessing to me. Thank you 🙏

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I can only hope that this review may bring you the amount of literary exposure you deserve Imelda… you continue to be an inspiration not only to me, but to many in the poetry world we know.. and perhaps even that poetry world that we do not know. Best wishes to you!!

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