It's Not Magic

Finished September 4

It's Not Magic: Poems by Jon Sands

This selection of poetry by Sands is divided into five untitled sections. Each is headed by a few lines of poetry from another poet that gives a sense of the theme of that section. 

The first section has poems of youth and origins, some mentioning family. I think my favourite here is Palindrome, a poem that moves backward from his grandmother's funeral into her life.

The second section is more reflective, with a hint of sadness to the lines. My favourite here is I Know That Silence Will Greet Me....

The third section has many relationship poems, poems around friendship and early adulthood, poems that reflect on growth and aging. My favourite here is Ode To My Mother's Hip.

The fourth section has only two poems, both prose poems and hard for me to choose one I liked better.

The fifth section is more open, a catch-all of sorts, with poems that are reflective, catching moments in time, like a song on the bus, an apology for a past action. Here my favourite is The Day We Chose Instead to Grow. 

I enjoyed reading and thinking about these poems.