Scan barcode
halfmanhalfbook's review
4.0
Family life in all of its messy forms is one of the fundamental things that tie communities together across our world, especially in times like this. Steve Denehan’s new collection is a mirror reflecting back his close family; there is his seven-year-old daughter, his wife who can calm him, and his parents who are in their twilight years.
His messy, complexity and emotional real-life are present in all of the poems in here. The subject range is vast too, so there are verses on Karaoke, floating in a pool in the dark, painting a room, the joy of holding a buttercup under his daughter’s chin, bouncy castles and most of all love in all of its different forms.
You are still my father
but sometimes, now
in these darkening dusks
I have the privilege
of being yours
There is humour in these poems, but it is often framed with a black gilt edge, just like life really, we can be laughing at something one moment and soon after we are hearing of the latest tragedy to strike someone we know. The collection feels very relevant too; there are a few poems on his take on the COVID pandemic, the one that struck home the most is when his father goes to hug his daughter and is sharply told no by his mother. Covid has driven a 2m gap between generations of the same family and love and the warmth of a hug is forbidden.
I am old
I stand
Still
At the edge of the ocean
The salt air sings to me
A lullaby
I look across the infinite expanse of green-blue
hypnotised
As his first collection, Miles of Sky Above Us, Miles of Earth Below, Denehan puts his heart and soul into this, and his emotions soar and writhe in these short bursts of prose. I liked the variation in structure and the way that the form and layouts have been changed to suit particular poems. Another highly recommended collection.
Three Favourite Poems
Your Old Datsun Cherry
Fiat Ritmo
An Eight-Minute Summer
His messy, complexity and emotional real-life are present in all of the poems in here. The subject range is vast too, so there are verses on Karaoke, floating in a pool in the dark, painting a room, the joy of holding a buttercup under his daughter’s chin, bouncy castles and most of all love in all of its different forms.
You are still my father
but sometimes, now
in these darkening dusks
I have the privilege
of being yours
There is humour in these poems, but it is often framed with a black gilt edge, just like life really, we can be laughing at something one moment and soon after we are hearing of the latest tragedy to strike someone we know. The collection feels very relevant too; there are a few poems on his take on the COVID pandemic, the one that struck home the most is when his father goes to hug his daughter and is sharply told no by his mother. Covid has driven a 2m gap between generations of the same family and love and the warmth of a hug is forbidden.
I am old
I stand
Still
At the edge of the ocean
The salt air sings to me
A lullaby
I look across the infinite expanse of green-blue
hypnotised
As his first collection, Miles of Sky Above Us, Miles of Earth Below, Denehan puts his heart and soul into this, and his emotions soar and writhe in these short bursts of prose. I liked the variation in structure and the way that the form and layouts have been changed to suit particular poems. Another highly recommended collection.
Three Favourite Poems
Your Old Datsun Cherry
Fiat Ritmo
An Eight-Minute Summer
More...