A Poetry Break

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Summary: A full range of human emotions in verse
Review: A Poetry Break: Poetry For Your Pleasure showcases the wonderful ability of Kay B. Day to present a full range of human emotions in her verse. Original, entertaining, at times inspirational, the little volume of memorable poetry is very highly recommended. Toast: Simple construction of bread and jelly/loses balance on a harried morning/to tumble into the lap/of a nine year old/who dabs with a napkin,/smears her sleeve, then studies it/all day long at school.//Her mother sweeps crumbs/clears nooks and crannies of dust,/every so often pausing/to study the paper heart/stuck to the refrigerator door/with a piece of tape.

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Summary: Tradition that meets Modern Sensibilities
Review: I have been a language arts teacher of many years, and I revel in the words of people long dead. I love the works of the past, and often, when I read modern works by people trying to replicate the styles of the past, I am not often impressed. Kay Day's book A Poetry Break: Poetry for Your Pleasure has changed my scepticism and converted me. Kay's sonnets read like the freshest, most meaningful poems written today. "In the Company of Sisters" is a great example. One is hardly conscious of the rhyming or the meter since Kay's words flow so naturally. Her topics are very meaningful to a modern audience. Take the poem "Church for Hire on San Jose." Who hasn't wondered about storefront churches in this increasingly secular world? Kay has written quite a powerful volume of poetry that touches on the mundane to the sublime. For me, that's what good literature is all about, no matter the style or the time period!

Rating:
Summary: Take a Break with Kay Day's "A Poetry Break"
Review: In her collection, A Poetry Break, Day warmly invites one and all to sink into the comfort of ordinary words lyrically ordered. Day's work will awaken readers emotionally and cerebrally.

''Volunteer Reading Lessons with Mira'' surprises with the depth of its message. The title shares no hint of Mira's true struggles, veiled in the drudgery of a reading lesson.

Similarly, the irony in ''Church for Hire on San Jose'' contrasts the conflicting messages of 21st century American society. We abandon a church, make it a stained glass sacrifice, while secular enterprises thrive. A phenomenon that many of us pay no notice, Day has turned into a contemplative sonnet.

In ''Monologue by a River,'' Day speaks for the river - any river - about the abuse and misuse it suffers at the hand of humankind. With gentility, Day reminds the reader of nature's power.

Most honest adults will confess a desire to run away on occasion. We become escapists on those days when the children are sick and crying, the boss is screaming and the transmission just went out on the car. In ''Porch Swing,'' Day admits to such longing - lust - for the freedom of youth and its oblivion to anything but a red pickup truck and thumping notes.

Students of the art of poetry can learn from Day's skillful word painting. The challenge of poetry is in careful selection of the language. The sonnet compounds that by forcing the poet to follow a prescribed formula. Day's sonnets are models of encouragement for poets.

Poetry patrons will want to read Day's work for its accessibility. It is real, understandable. Her fluid poems allow readers to feel Day's emotions as they experience their own. A Poetry Break is indeed for your pleasure.