- Recommended Age Range: 12 and up
- Formats: E-Book
- Approx. Length: 31,041 Words
With thirteen oft-humorous Poetic Reflections columns as a framework for chapters and themes, the author presents a collection of original poems and song lyrics from “a lifetime of versage” — a journey through her soul.
The volume features giddy lingual romps, the words to a variety of Folk-Rock ballads, poems from other book projects, witty mullings, and much more. A serious thread running through the book is the topic of Abuse, which the author addresses directly as well as in verse. The collection is thoughtful, unusual, uplifting, and emotional. This is Lori R. Lopez at her gravest and wryly mischievous best.
This poetry collection, Volume One of the Poetic Reflections Series, is currently being enhanced for a Second Edition!
Samples
“What pours from my brain, unfortunately, can be rather complex. Inordinately unnatural. Exuberantly abstract.”
My head is full of nonsense
That swishes ear to ear
If only I could sneeze it out
Just think what I would hear
~ from Nonsense And Stuff
What pours from my brain, unfortunately, can be rather complex. Inordinately unnatural. Exuberantly abstract. Inutterally obsessantly compulstorily verbosedly illegiant. (Okay, that last “word” — and I use the term loosely — hovers somewhere between illegible, illegal, and allegiance. You figure it out. Or don’t. I can’t recommend it.)
~ from Nonsense And Stuff
forward!
The inimical truth of the matter, or any matter for that matter, is that life takes us forward whether we like it or we don’t. Even when we are the least bit ready or not.
Take, for instance, this foreword. As opposed to the one above, which is spelled differently and therefore is not exactly this foreword but another forward altogether. If you get my drift.
And speaking of driftwood, isn’t it amazing how a random shard of timber can float to the ends of the earth, weather any storm, without sinking? We have much to learn from driftwood.
But back to this foreword. I wasn’t ready to write it so I didn’t. I wrote the other forward to move things along. Let’s be frank — if we waited until I was ready to write this foreword, we might be waiting here awhile.
Don’t fret; the rest of the pages will probably make more sense. It was never my intention to make sense this early in the book. (I should call this “mush!” instead of “forward!” Oh well, too late.)
I present a year of poetic reflections. And a lifetime of versage — although not necessarily all of it. But most of the best, which makes this book very personal, like a journey through my soul.
~ the poetic (as in poetic heretic)
forward!
ode to a poem
nonsense and stuff
punderances
existentialism
the silent resonance of regret
hallowing
preposterosities
bon-mottery
trust
m’friend
bewary very
treedom
thirteen
but seriously
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SubscribeHonors & Praise
Second Place for poem WORDSMITH in the Cate Professional Writing Awards from Greater San Diego Council Of Teachers Of English/California Association Of Teachers Of English in 2001
“Ah, what a collection, what a compendium of verses and lyrics and intelligent craziness. All of life's abstractions, wisdom, fact, fear, instructions, guidance brought together under the unique hand, and voice, of Lori R. Lopez.”
“Author Lori R. Lopez is known for her mystery, horror, and suspense stories. In Poetic Reflections, the reader sees her talent for writing poetry, prose, and song lyrics. What a prolific word-smith! Poetry is often so abstract that it requires too much mental work to interpret: This is not the case with Lori’s readable and understandable style. Lori R. Lopez’s writing is raw yet carefully polished.
As I was reading Keep the Heart of A Child, I often felt as if Lori had been taking snap-shots of my thoughts, those elusive thoughts that come and go so quickly that they defy capture. Lori has the unique ability to contain and examine those thoughts, explore the emotions, and translate them by using words with substance. All this occurs with well-crafted twists and turns of language that convey the universal human condition of slow rises and fast falls as we ride the roller-coaster called LIFE.
Lori weaves her life story into this volume, creating textures that are not easily labeled but are readily resonating. The reader may feel as much joy from the poem “Sweet” as he/she does sorrow from a paragraph about abuse. Then, a poem like “Trust” appears, exploring the word in verse so that the reader can identify with the feeling, unlike a dry dictionary definition. Speaking of the dictionary, Lori uses words that even I, considerably literate and a teacher of ESL and adult literacy, had to research. She toys with words, and her clever word-play entertained me.
Each chapter has a narrative introduction that helps to organize the sheer number of words that will follow and the great span of subjects Lori R. Lopez covers. A reader cannot be disappointed; there is some thing, some word, some topic that will speak to your heart.”
Lynn C. Tolson, “artist, author, advocate”
BEYOND THE TEARS; Barnes & Noble, Amazon Reviews***
♥
“Ah, what a collection, what a compendium of verses and lyrics and intelligent craziness. All of life’s abstractions, wisdom, fact, fear, instructions, guidance brought together under the unique hand, and voice, of Lori R. Lopez. I enjoyed it from the start, bookmarked really important poems so I can read them as over again as I wanted. It has everything from notes on heartwarming love to bonebreaking horror! I loved poems and lyrics such as Frantic (lost love), Miracle and Imagine (mother’s veneration for child), Hallowing, Grimmest and The Macabre (three very humorously horrifying poems), My friend (a birthday poem written for who I believe I’ve met digitally), I had a friend, Ides Of March (remember Julius Ceasar?), The Deep dark woods, The Dark deep woods, Bugs and so on. It’s a brilliant collection, really, not just a must have but a must keep.”
Artie Margrave
Smashwords Review
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A part of Poetic Reflections Project by Lori R. Lopez
