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And brought me what I could not see
Now we are joined together,
And I count your heart my home."
In Barkman’s compilation, audiences witness a beautiful intersection between earthly and divine love, or material love and God’s unconditional, unfettered love. Dedicated to his fiancée, Anastasia, the poetry emphasizes a love so pure in the earthly realm that it becomes transcendent and creates a heaven on earth. Whereas some poems describe the speaker as lost and “meandering the earth,” “God in You” punctuates the notion that love is essentially God’s messenger to heal one's earthly pains in preparation for spiritual ascension. With each poem, the message shines through with forceful clarity and a natural musical quality that puts Barkman’s strong command of poetic rhythm and meter, along with his great exposure to hymns from scripture, on full display.
Perhaps what makes this collection of poems so intriguing is Barkman’s ability to pour raw authenticity into every poem. For instance, in “Promise Ring,” the speaker weaves eros (earthly love) and agape (divine love) seamlessly, delivering both the underlying devotion and sanctity of marriage as well as the budding excitement for the final of the three rights—the wedding ring. As the work delves from his personal love story to the section on angels, the already spectacular imagery reaches dazzling, resplendent levels, where audiences can envision God’s throne, the white flame, and the grandest of them all, the triumphant lamb basking in the eternal light of the divine. It’s the divine climax, the spiritual denouement, just as Anastasia is functional to the earthly shepherding of the speaker’s soul in “A Christmas Star,” describing love as the second guardian angel. In a world where material and divine love have often been pitted against each other, Barkman’s work is a refreshing take on how the union of the two is a precursor to basking in eternal salvation.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review