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This collection of poetry celebrates the spiritual seeker. As a follower of Eastern philosophy living in the noise and distractions of the West, the poet reflects on the quiet path to spiritual awareness in the midst of constant movement and sound. In this book of poems, works about Boston, New York, and San Francisco are interspersed with poems concerning spiritual awareness. Each work is a glimpse into the life of one who seeks. In this delightful offering of metaphor and imagery, readers will follow the poet’s quest for enlightenment as he reflects on the various paths that led to his search and the ultimate finding of a teacher.
The search for the Divine in the midst of a life surrounded by earthly distractions is a recurring theme within these poems. The juxtaposition of life in the city with spiritual awakening is an effective rendering of the poet’s underlying theme: one must seek and find the spiritual while traversing the material. In the poem, “Ananda,” the poet states that “The Divine is everywhere. Grey days in this urban pearl of city enterprises that rise like helium balloons in the tiger light of August.” In “Miles,” jazz musician Miles Davis becomes “spirit Zen poet of the jazz epiphany,” and in “Reflections,” the poet finds “my being / deep within this numinous life reflects in orbs / to cosmic seeing / dreams in eidolons of Being and Becoming . . . even in the streets and workaday world / or on my way to the marketplace.” Kent's poetic voice is exceptional, and his imagery is effective and evocative. Overall, this is a moving and enlightening book of one’s search for spiritual truth.
RECOMMENDED by the US Review