Rising, Falling, Hovering - Dynamic and Creative Poetry!

By Joseph Spence, Sr.
Certainly, it was a rare opportunity for me to have met Professor C.D. Wright in person during her visit to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She is the famed award winning poet and esteemed English professor from Brown University. Being able to speak face to face with such a brilliant and inspiring person and listening to her poetry recital all in one day is really uplifting. Furthermore, receiving an autographed copy of her book, Rising, Falling, Hovering, is like having your choice of ice cream on top of a birthday cake.

Professor Wright has certainly produced a master piece with the writing of this award winning book of poems, Rising, Falling, Hovering. This is a dynamic and captivating poetry book in many ways. First and foremost, it's packed with poetic brilliance and an "awe" in exclamation regarding the compilation and flow of poetic images to stimulate the mind, body and soul. Next, the architecture of the poems in this book stimulates the sense of sight in terms of their variations and how they motivate the reader to produce imaginary poetic thoughts. Finally, based on the awards this book has won so far, one could say, "It's a majestic literary edition of our time and age."

The comparative analysis in the poems, Like Having a Light at Your Back You Can't See but You Can Still Feel, on pages four and seventy-one, is very interesting in terms of content and tonality. The additional syllables in the latter enhances the vibrancy of the lines. Have you ever told your wife, "Honey will you turn the lights off so I can get some sleep?" You will find an allusion of such in this poem and it's really hilarious and real. It also reads like a movie scene.

Additionally, Like a Prisoner of Soft Words on pages forty-six and seven-seven, equally presents a moving and dynamic poetic contrast with an array of anaphoric lines. The use of action words in the poems enhances the interpretation of the projected images while moving the lines as the words impact the senses. For example: "We suspect someone has followed one or the other of us," and "We dropped some cash on the tablecloth," lend curiosity to the imaginative spirit in contrasting the two poems.

Rising, Falling, Hovering presents a historical sketch covering a spectrum of scenes including: Mexico, cancer, war, Washingtonians, linguistic array of words, military operations, Egypt, South America, news reporting, funerals, and many other interesting and intriguing topics. The scenes are very interesting and appealing to the senses in one way, shape or form. The is really some emotional stuff; it's very striking, yet humorous in some ways without an oxymoronic essence.

On the other hand, the book is balanced with humor. I laughed out loud upon reading the poem regarding "Aisle 13 of Wal-Mart" and the person in the reptile section while sitting in a public place. I was laughing so hard the people started looking at me. I showed them the cover of the book and told them, "Get your own copy!"

This book is packed with: irony, alliteration, inversion, metaphor, simile, extended analogy, comparison, temporal setting, poetic style, enjambment, dramatic structure, figurative language and the rest.

Joseph S. Spence, Sr. (aka "Epulaeryu Master"), is the author of "The Awakened One Poetics" (2009), which is published in seven different languages. He also co-authored two poetry books, "A Trilogy of Poetry, Prose and Thoughts for the Mind, Body and Soul" (2005), and "Trilogy Moments for the Mind, Body and Soul," (2006). He invented the Epulaeryu poetry form, which focuses on succulent cuisines. Joseph is a Goodwill Ambassador for the state of Arkansas. He has completed over twenty years of service with the U.S. Army.