Bluebell Review Chamber [CLOSED]

જ Butterflies and Butterfly Kissesજ ☾ Carmi ☽

Book Title: Butterflies and Butterfly Kisses
Author: thattouchofpoetry
Reviewer: Read-aholic2006
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(This review is solely based on the first eleven available poems)

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Cover: 4/5:

I only suggest that you use a more legible font because this one is way too liquidy. You can also increase the size of your text to quickly capture the audience's attention.

Title: 5/5

I find it intriguing that the title of your poetry collection is the same as the title of your first poem in this collection. I don't know if you named this collection after the poem or the poem after the collection. Either way, it's beautiful and unique.

Blurb: 4/5

Although I find the quote you used to be extremely beautiful, you must ensure its relevance to your own poetry. Therefore, I would advise you to add more depth, more body, to your blurb as it merely comprises the words from a famous poet.

Creativity/originality: 5/5

It's difficult to create your own reputation as a writer in terms of how you write. It's important to ask yourself what sets you apart from other poets. Well, I've noticed that you're not merely a poet, but an excellent storyteller. And I'm aware that I've said this to quite a few other authors before, but I feel like your poems are authentic. But I've commented on your creativity further in my review.

External Structure (Formatting/Rhyme/Rhythm): 10/10

Your poems are all written in free verse, although there were occurrences of internal rhyme (such as in "When the poet sleeps" and "My Name, Your Sonnet") and end rhyme (such as in "Aesthetism"). Your poems consist of both long, fluid lines and short, powerful lines. All your poems share the same structure, except for "Unguided Spirits" (I find it interesting that you wrote this poem in regular paragraphs) and "My Boat Ride to Paradise", which comprises stanzas.

Internal Structure (Imagery/Language/Diction): 10/10

Your vocabulary is appropriately mature and your diction grips a reader's heart: With a swollen throat and broken voice and a room filled with echoes of laughter so loud that it shatters my eardrums and breaks to pieces the fragments of my already fractured soul.

I loved your first poem. It's so sweet and realistic. The speaker recalls the time in which she had her first kiss. They were only children back then and the innocence of this moment was highlighted in your diction: I remember the tentative moment our lips touched. This instantly tells us that it wasn't a passionate kiss filled with lust and certainty; it was soft and gentle, but magical. And the imagery whereby the speaker's heartbeat represents the hiccups in time is powerful and clever.
You've smoothly incorporated various figures of speech in your writing, such as onomatopoeia in "Windowsill Poetry". Your simile in your poem "Butterflies and Butterfly Kisses" (I remember gasping for air at the feeling, like I was just newly born and it was my first breath.) is such a vivid comparison.

Some of your metaphors were beautifully striking: ...my blood is the wine they drink and my tears the salt for their meals.

"Sarcasm" is just one of my favourite poems as it greatly resonates with me. I also turn to poetry in desperate times; ink and paper is far more comprehensible than the meaningless words which spill from people's lips. But I believe anyone can relate to this poem in some way; each person has something they can confide in when the rest of the world turns their back on you. "Sarcasm" emanates the themes of ostracism and loneliness, being left in the dark and mocked for your lack of understanding. I find it very creative that you refer to those who "specialize" in sarcasm as "scholars of its concepts".

"When the poet sleeps" is another poem to which I can relate. As a writer, I often find myself at a loss for words during the day, but at 2 a.m, inspiration randomly hits me across the head and I'm somehow able to write about the sunlit world that sweeps past me. Once my head hits the pillow, my thoughts buzz with vitality, my fingers crave the feeling of a pencil, my eyes seek the sight of a notebook and all I want to do is write. The way you phrased this strange situation of nocturnal energy was brilliant.

Lastly, I liked the way you played with words in "Nostalgia": You journeyed to the Neverlands, and I to the Tomorrow Lands and When all was never well and never well wasn't all.

Writing style/Grammar: 10/10

In terms of poetry, you barely made any grammatical errors. When it comes to your writing style, your poems aren't exactly to-the-point with rigid stanzas. Instead they're like lyrical narrations, each line flowing into the next one like melted butter. One of the poetic devices that you utilized is repetition. In "My Name, Your Sonnet", "Aesthetism" and "Nostalgia", the words "I remember" are repeated a few times, introducing the speaker's selective recollections. In "Unguided Spirits", each stanza starts with, Emily you know..., which is also a wonderful example of apostrophe. But you also used repetition to effectively emphasize the speaker's pain in "Sarcasm": ...I am often left with scratches on my arm and bruises on my arm and bruises that painfully decorate my back.

Reading enjoyment: 10/10

Your poems deserve a standing ovation. I loved them all, but there were those that simply stood out to me. "Fragments" was one of those poems; it's so interesting and has such a low-key dramatic ending. I always find it exciting to read poetry that's written in a completely different style from that of my own. However, it either ends in disappointment or satisfaction. In this case, it was the latter. I had the privilege of witnessing your poetic artwork and definitely enjoyed the tour.

Overall: 58/60

What more is there to say? Your poetry is the quintessence of art and beauty. Well done and keep at it.

Have a nice day!