For my people

I don't often get to review a book of poetry, so it's a pleasure to announce the publication this year of the first collection of poetry by Nathaniel Lucas titled For My People.

The poems vary in their content: a few touch on politics, others religion, women and nature. Most are reflections or musings touching on some part of the life of the poet, often a memory of a a past event, person or place.

My one criticism of the poetry was going to be that some of the poems are difficult to get inside of (that it's difficult to follow some of the references). However, I got into the habit of reading the poems a few at a time, when I was in the right frame of mind, and I came to enjoy the texture of each poem. Like a good film, you get drawn into a particular way of seeing or experiencing reality.

I'm grateful to have been pulled back into reading poetry, particularly contemporary poetry, and I look forward to a future collection.

As this is a political site, I'll mention two of the more overtly political poems. One,"The Tale of Boomer and Chen," is bitingly humorous and upfront in its social commentary. I heard it read aloud recently to a very appreciative audience.

The other is the poem from which the title of the volume derives, "For My People". Here are the first two stanzas:

For my people,
everywhere singing
their slave songs,
their despair songs, self-hate
songs, for those who
don't know they are
singing another's song.

For those who have never heard of prayer
who believe all transcendence Eastern.
For my brothers who would
disdain my brotherhood.

And the final stanza:

For my people who are all of this,
for those who find out who they are
let a people loving grace
barrel out of sweated suburbs,
blast floodlights out of shoebox
apartments, send bonfires up
from vast estates of wool and beef,
so all will know, though it won't be said,
let the rule of thirds return to rule.
let brother sing in truth once more.

I hope you find from reading this, as I did, that there is much ability to encourage here. You can purchase For My People very reasonably in both print and electronic versions here.