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Reviewed by Mamta Madhavan for Readers' Favorite
The Empty Bench - Songs of Love, Life and Loss by Stephen Charles Lovatt is a wonderful collection of poems that revolve around nature, love, and religion. The author's faith in Catholicism also plays a vital part in the theme of certain poems.
Nature has always inspired many writers and poets. There much one can gain by observing nature. This collection of poems is one book where you feel like reading every poem. Each poem has something in it that makes a reader go through it again. The style is beautiful, simple, and elegant. The poems are lyrical and well worded with some amazing imagery. The poet's love for William Blake is evident in his use of language which borders on simplicity and elegance.
It's been a while since the archaic and ornamental language of poetry has given way to simple, stark, and elegant language. We do not get to read poems that have words which require the reader to sit with a dictionary. Now we have poems which show the skills of effective wordplay. Simplicity of language is the keyword.
'The Welcome Rains' poem in the book is beautiful. It is metaphorical and profound. The same can be said for every other poem. 'What and Who' is another lovely poem where the connection between the body, soul, and spirit is handled deftly. The mystical theme of the poem is uplifting. The same can be said for this entire collection.
