Watercolour Essences of Moon
Christala Rosina
PublishAmerica, 2006
114 pages
I seem to have tapped, unwittingly, into a vein of pagan and pagan-friendly poets as of late. While Watercolour Essences of Moon isn’t expressly pagan, the themes most certainly are relevant to those pagans for whom Nature is an important factor in spirituality.
Rosina’s work is inspired strongly by the Romantic poets such as Shelley, Coleridge, Blake and others; while I haven’t read them extensively since getting my BA in English years ago, I could definitely sense their influence in this collection of poems. Most of the poems at least allude to, if not center on, natural phenomena ranging from broad-branched trees to splashing, running water. However, it is human nature in specific that Rosina captures quite expertly with her carefully chosen words. While the common themes of love and loneliness are addressed, some of the poems are more playful–for example, “The Lily and the Rose” is a smirking jab at those who claim that “rhyming verse is dead”.
It took me a few times to really get into reading these poems. The author has a background in music, and the quality of the verses is such that they seem to immediately lend themselves to being spoken aloud. At first I wanted to say that this would be the most effective way of conveying the writing, but the poems grew on me over time as reading material as well. Sadly, I live across an ocean from Rosina, so I can’t hear her recite the poems herself, but I hope I did an adequate job myself in the privacy of my own home!
Some of the poems might make for good additions into ritual practices; “Sonnet to the Night”, for example, is a lovely tribute to that particular time, personified as female (the Star Goddess, perhaps?). However, even if you’re just appreciative of poetry, this would be a lovely addition to your collection.
Five pawprints out of five.
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