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Meet me on the sidewalk
We can walk among the lights
And talk again"
Beginning with the poem “A Divided World,” this collection focuses on the peace the world longs for but never seems to find. Readers discover quiet meditations about human confusion, falling in love, and the power of music. As they continue through the collection, they discover poems that highlight the difficulties of being alone, the heartache that happens when love fades, and the power of renewal when one finds it again. Eventually, one crosses paths with poems like “The Waiting World,” which grasps at an individual’s role in changing a world so desperately in need of transformation. Other poems like “War is Hell” grip readers because of messages which resonate with everyday headlines from across the globe. However, many of the poems encourage readers to look for the hope and the joy that can be found in life when one chooses to seek it.
The poems in the author’s collection bear a distinctive voice. The majority of them rely on rhyme, which adds a musicality to the poem. This structure and musicality reinforce the idea carried in poems like “Country.” This poem attests to the significance the country music genre holds for many people. In it, the speaker states that country music “speaks to all” and tells “us what we were.” In poems like “A Loving Chance,” the genre acts as the foundation of a relationship. A cute love story unfolds thanks to country music: “I said I had some / Country records she might like to hear / She smiled and said / I’m a country girl and like those sounds.”
Poems like “Uncharted World” offer readers the chance to embrace the journeys hopes, love, and dreams offer. The poem is romantic and carries with it a message that one should never lose sight of their dreams and desires. It juxtaposes the speaker’s recognition of their own loneliness in “I’m Alone.” In this piece, the speaker faces the impossibility of changing in order to appease another person. Despite the speaker’s statement, “I may always be alone,” they remain resilient. Grief and loss are two prominent themes in such poems. However, as they repeat throughout the collection, a powerful testament forms: grief and loss are part of life’s cycle. Each individual endures them uniquely, and the cycle shapes each individual differently.
This collection is personal, intimate, and confessional. Each poem in the overarching narrative also acts as its own unique story. The speaker possesses an honest, heartfelt voice. The speaker’s tone, conversational language, and honest approach to life’s difficulties and joys will appeal to those looking for easily accessible poetry. For readers who enjoy rhyming poetry, this collection offers this feature as well. Other readers will engage with poems like “Country,” which paint an inclusive portrait of one of America’s most popular genres. Meanwhile, pieces like “I’m Still Alive” remind readers to be thankful for each day and celebrate the years they have been given, despite the hardships they may have faced. In short, Rogers has given his audience an inspiring collection, one filled with faith, hope, experience, nostalgia, and personal resilience.