 |
Yet, through all of this, I know he is solely mine
For you have moved forward and left he and I behind"
Anderson understands hurt and disappointment. As a teenager she began to write as a way to deal with her personal pain and also to express thoughts that she felt others didn't want to hear. Eventually, she realized her writing was not only a coping mechanism but also a gift from God. And despite her initial desire to keep her musings to herself, others began to ask to read her words and subsequently drew comfort from them as they faced their own struggles. In this collection of heartfelt poetry, she offers up some of those thoughts in a desire to help more people along life's bumpy road.
One of the first things that stands out in Anderson's poetry is its approachability. She avoids arcane language and obscure illusions to speak plainly to her audience. This is not to say her work is devoid of depth. Much of what she communicates is rich with insight into the human condition. She simply chooses to express it in a way where others can clearly understand her points. To further accomplish this she also avoids most rhyme and structure conventions, frequently focusing instead on the natural rhythms one might hear in the passionate and heartfelt words spoken to a lover or a friend. As such, there is almost a sense at times of intruding on a private conversation, of overhearing something intimate and personal.
An ordained minister and an African-American, Anderson's poetry often includes religious themes and occasional racial ones like in the piece "Echo's of the Past." But she also ventures into the bedroom with poems like "Beyond a Moment" and into the pain of abandonment and divorce in ones like "To End You and I." The result is a well-rounded, poignant, and unvarnished journey through life's ups and downs.