Review: Excellent, heart-felt poetry!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 2, 2014
"Nocturnal Embers" is a beautiful collection of poetry and photographs by Danish writer, Helle Gade. I was very impressed by the poet’s first book, "Silent Dreams", but I think this is even better. The poems touched me in so many ways; some made me want to weep, others made me smile. Each one touched a part of me.“Excruciating Pain, “Release Me”, “Sadness”, “Fog” and “Fatigue” moved me almost to tears. The first of these is a heart-rending description of a person suffering with an invisible, painful illness. Knowing several people who have to live with pain constantly or who live behind a faade of normality, this poem stood out for me.I love the poem “Child’s Soul”. It is quite beautiful, mentioning the positive attributes of love and compassion. I felt that it could be matched with “Karma”; despite the fact that, in many ways, it is the opposite of “Child’s Soul”.“Karma” is a chilling poem, talking of Karma as”……the hoar frostThe harbinger of deathTo all who are without love and compassion.”I enjoyed the love that flowed through “Pap” and the hopefulness of “New Circle” and “The Sting”. Some of my favourite lines come from the poem, “Fireworks”:“Let go of the expectations of other people’s opinions of youLet go of the controlAnd spin till you are dizzy”I have already read this collection of Helle Gade’s wonderful poetry twice and I can say with certainty, that I shall read it again. I would recommend “Nocturnal Embers” to anyone who enjoys beautiful, heart-felt poetry.