"The storm of life may bend me, may twist me from all semblance. But oh, loving mother, I shall not break beneath their violence."
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Flights from the Lowlands by Florence Rose Trafford Publishing
book review by Mihir Shah
Flights from the Lowlands, Florence Rose's updated collection of poetry, revolves around various topics, including, but not limited to, the struggles of the Great Depression, heroism, the American Revolution, the beauty of nature, the sometimes excruciating writing process, and the take-off of the flight industry. Well-educated and versed in all areas of life, Rose's vision for the world led her to use writing as a woman suffrage platform. As readers' navigate through the anthology, he or she will catch a glimpse of who Rose was and the principles for which she fought. Flights from the Lowlands is written with grace and a keen attention to detail on many different topics, thus appealing to multiple crowds.
The title poem is representative of a time that involves the inception of the commercial flight industry. Rose captures the excitement and fear of treading a "path into the skies." Perhaps the most thought-provoking and insightful poem of the bunch is "One Simple Way," which points out that rich or poor, prince or pauper, both enter and leave the world in the same manner.
Florence Rose, for much of her children's youth, battled an illness and passed time confined to her bed. The poem, "Two Petitions," is her plea to the Lord to care for her children. Other intriguing poems include, but are not limited to, "Ageless Drama," "A Logical Conclusion," "Misfit," "Some Deepening Conclusions," and "Comradeship."
Overall, Flights from the Lowlands is imbued with an extraordinary collection of poetry that enlightens and evokes emotion on a number of pertinent topics of the time. This is a window to Florence Rose's essence—her life as a whole.