WEE reviews May 22, 2006

A Crosstown Breeze by Henry Taylor

Julie: I did the reviews so late last night that Poetry Daily had actually put up a fresh poem before I saw it. So this review is actually for yesterday's poem. I'm glad it worked out the way it did, since this poem would not have inspired me to get off my unreviewing duff. The rhymes feel forced and a bit childish, which isn't helped by the naivete of the poem.

now gray concrete
and electric light
wear on my feet
and dull my sight.

This is just not what I want from rhyming poetry.

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For the Sake by Max Winter

Julie: I can't accuse this poem of lacking movement, though I do think it goes on a bit too long. I think repetition is one of the most valuable tools a poet has, and this uses it to good effect, though I didn't feel that the poem, in the end, had enough surprises in store for me.

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= by Lightsey Darst

Julie: To be honest, I couldn't follow this poem's meaning. A few of the lines intrigued me, especially the last, but the poem as a whole is choppy, disoriented. The linebreaks, symbol title, even the poet's name adds to the effect. Interesting that two poems in a row reference a symbol of a white animal. Are the editors doing that apurpose?