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Dusk Till Dawn

Title: Dusk till Dawn

By SinaMW1209

Reviewed by RowanCarver

Blurb

I like the opening sort of stanza "dream without fear, love without limits."

I do think the beginning of your blurb could be worded a little better. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." It's a bit run-on. You could try "When people come close to success and give up, they realize one of life's greatest failures." or something like that. But I like the meaning of it, especially the closing title "live it happily from dusk till dawn."

Analysis

Dusk Till Dawn is a collection of poetry and one-shots, so I will review each part separately here.

Dusk Till Dawn

"Far far away there lived a girl, who considered life as heaven."

I like this character introduction. However rhythmically the next few lines are a little awkward "she was the happiest little being/and called her the richest of men," I'm just not sure what that last line means is all, but I like this little happy character you've created already.

This poem has a really lovely meaning to it. It talks about a girl who lives in a cottage with very little things, but she considers herself "rich" because she tries to live life to the fullest from "dusk till dawn." Your poetry, although lacking in rhythmic structure in places, is really uplifting to read. I like it when people use short stanzas to introduce characters and tell stories, and you managed to do that in a really small period of time with this piece, as well as convey a really nice theme: "riches in love and merriment."

Stars

In this poem, a mother tells her daughter what the stars are in a song. The author adds really beautiful characterization to the stars as if they are little creatures looking down on us "shining as they look at us, smiling as they see us, yearnings they want to join us, and going to sleep as they dream of us." I thought this was really creative. And then there's quite a twist at the ending that I won't reveal, but it's very thoughtful and very bittersweet.

Racism

Way to tackle a very relevant and important topic with maturity and grace. This is a powerful piece here, I especially liked how the speaker finds confidence and motivation in her poem. "I am still a person...I deserve to be shown respect...happiness...love..." A really powerful declaration here, I found this to be a convicting piece.

Betrayal

This poem has a lot of emotional weight and you can feel the speaker's anguish. It tells the story of a lover whose heart was broken by someone who didn't love them back, and is now coming to terms with what happened (the Betrayal). I wonder if the part "you poured my friendship down the drain/and gave my heart to someone else" insinuates that the speaker's former lover cheated, but I like that you left that up to the reader's imagination. The author conveys hurt and anger here very well. I like how at the end the speaker stays bitter, I thought that was a realistic way to end this poem. It kind of packs a punch and helps the reader realize that the betrayer's actions had a lasting impact on the speaker.

Invisible

I liked the story told here in this poem. I interpreted it as a speaker who is struggling with their identity. They leave their place to go outside where they wrestle with this inner conflict. They run into a stranger who happens to be going through the same thing. They become friends and meet in the same spot every day to talk, and eventually, they fall in love. This poem seems to be up to interpretation and I like that about it too, but the story I got out of it was really sweet to me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

True Beauty

True beauty is a commentary written in prose about the definition of it, and the author's ideas are really lovely. "True beauty is something that comes from the heart. Not how you look, but how you love and care for others." There's some touching philosophy here that you can't help but agree with, and this to me was a really uplifting piece to read as well.

Bullying

Quite a tonal shift from True Beauty to Bullying. I really felt for the speaker (and the author, I do hope this isn't a self-insert but if it is, I'm truly sorry and I can sympathize). "Cover me in soot/snickering as you tell me to rot." Here the speaker confronts a bully and reflects on their previous interactions. They consider the lasting impact of the antagonist's abuse, and there's a sense of hopelessness at the end "How much longer can I hold back/it goes on and on/I cry myself to sleep/praying it would stop. It leaves the reader rooting for the speaker and wanting them to stand up to their bully, but the unfortunate reality is, that doesn't always happen for some people. Some people stay silent, and I feel like this poem was written for them.

Fire and Water

This piece equates the human experience to Fire v Water. Sometimes we are one, sometimes we are the other. I wholeheartedly agree and really connected with the analogy here. It has a strong message about overcoming trials and persevering, also it talks about the value of pursuing peace.

Summary

This is a really nice anthology. The author has some lovely philosophies that are uplifting to read about. They tackle some difficult topics as well and are not afraid to shed some light on darker realism. But the pieces that are about happiness and light things will truly put you in a good mood. The author is clearly a thinker and does a good job of conveying these emotions and philosophies through poetry. Dusk till Dawn is simply a nice and lovely read. Short too, so be sure to check it out, it will lift your spirits on a rainy day.

See you, Space Cowboy...