Sketches From Life

by Londis Carpenter

ISBN 1-4137-0415-8

140 pages at 19.95 paperback

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Shetches From Life features more than 100 poems from the heart and mind of Londis Carpenter.  Many are humorous or thought provoking metaphors, both subtle and profound.  Everyday happenings and imaginary tales are recorded in lyrical style.  There are songs and sonnets to delight children and adults alike, constructed in both free form and rhyme.

I found the following excerpt from “I Write So You’ll Remember” to be particularly profound:

            The walls of earth are littered

            With the ruins of fallen stars

            And runes of men.

“One-Punch Willy Brown” was a humorous story-song, excerpted here:

            The gals all sidled near him; the guys seemed to leave him alone.

            We all knew his reputation and that Willy was bad to the bone.

            They say he once knocked out a horse or a mule and his hands could move faster than

                        light.

            We all knew how he came by his nickname; with one punch he could end any fight.

“Winter Ride” is a free form poem, one of my favorites.  I chose one small excerpt as an example:

            A dark blacktop ribbon

            stretches,

            merging into the soft,

            misty, battleship gray

            curtain of sky.

“Prisoner of War” expresses contemporary concerns from the POW’s point of view:

            The throbbing ache of wounds

            Crusted with blood and fear

            Tell me I’m alive.

There is something for every age in Sketches From Life, to be read aloud to children or pondered by adult.  This poet has the curiosity of a child encased nicely in the mind of an adult.  If you like poetry, give this one a try.

Midwest Book Review