A Review: Poems from the Darkroom
“My own soul was moved and deepened as I read this poetry memoir by Colleen Redman. I love the way she speaks of letting the soul have the right of way as she faces the latter part of her lifetime. Having looked back and honored the grief from her losses of family members she now turns toward a “widening horizon with the narrowing of life” in the poem “The Last Dance”. In the poem “Surprise Endings” she speaks of retreating “in solitude…until life’s puzzle is nearly finished and I can add my piece to the whole.” And then resolves this with a superb closing stanza, “But don’t look too close/ or you’ll miss the full picture/ where everyone is a beautiful loner/ where we all belong to each other.”
Colleen has clearly been “apprenticing herself to her own disappearance” as the poet David Whyte instructs us all to do so we deepen our soul’s knowing in our elder years. This book is a great find for any person whose life has been touched by loss or who is courageous enough to face the future loss of their own life. One of my favorites in the many gems in this collection of poetic jewels is “The Magic Trick”, which starts with this stanza: “It takes years of prep/ for the magic trick/ of being here one minute/ and gone the next.” – Joe Klein, Licensed Professional Counselor
NOTE- Poems from the Darkroom is available for purchase at Amazon for $13 and in Floyd at The Harvest Moon Food Store and The Floyd Country Store.
