Carillon Magazine

Reviews from the magazine

 

Unlocked:  John Greeves

Palores Publications, 1 Station Hill, Redruth, Cornwall. TR15 2PP

32pp £3.50  ISBN 0-9547985-6-2

Reviewed by Carol Thistlethwaite

 

Unlock this unassuming cover and find some gems. What I admire about John Greeves is his understated emotions as in Kissing Granddad and Leaving Home. Their openness invites readers to step inside without embarrassment:

 

He left today, carrying his childhood

 through the door with a casual nod.

 

I particularly enjoyed the first poem, Stealing Her Soul,whose lines prepare us for what is to come:

 

I snapshot the edges of your soul;

 raw images wrapped in body hair

 and imprint them into ochre soil.

 

This is a collection of memories and moments, from the poet's own life. Greeves's swipe at white van drivers made me smile; my

husband sometimes drives one... And poems like Roman Pantile tell us just enough:

 

My arched hand, matching

 finger tips to finger tips,

 epoch and touch.

 

Detailed images such as those in Tumbled Wildebeest and Kissing Granddad enhance the poignancy of the moment.

 

Pricked ears, hammered hooves, a last jerked reflex,

 a flick of a  tail, weighed in charged silence.

 

Crafted poems speak for themselves - and these do. So next time, John, omit the explanatory introduction. Your poems don't need it.

Issue 13