Tag: Writing

Anchors of Light

December 26, 2024

Traversing the path means traversing the dark.
Mist blinds but moonlight hue
brightens from dark to blue
showing outlines of cobblestone path
leading to uncertain destinations
stirring thoughts of hidden things.

But fear disperses as two lampposts appear
rising perfectly towards sky
irrefutable evidence of human ingenuity and mind
anchors of light
giving relief in midst of the lonely unknown.

Poetry is compressed to fit smart phone screens. If you are reading this poem on a phone screen, please turn your screen sideways to make sure that you are seeing correct line breaks for the poem.

Review of The Bus Ride by Richard D. Bank

August 2, 2023

Individuals are often forced into making impossible journeys requiring immense fortitude, strength, and sheer force of will. In Richard D. Bank’s novel, The Bus Ride, we find sixteen-year-old Lou Bank bravely taking part in this type of impossible journey. Racing against the clock, Lou must take a cross-country bus ride from Los-Angeles to Philadelphia to see his dying father one last time. During his journey to Philadelphia, Lou is faced with fear, uncertainty, and hunger but faces each obstacle bravely.

Lou Bank is the author’s father, and the fact that The Bus Ride is based on a true story makes it even more compelling. Filled with detailed and intricate world-building and exquisitely written prose, we are transported back to the early 1930s and witness the struggles and triumphs of the Bank family. As with other well-documented and skillfully written stories of the early 20th century, this story will have you rooting for the victory of one of the members of the greatest generation.  

The Bus Ride is also an ode to the immigrant experience. When you’re new to a nation as the Bank family was, your parents and sibling(s) will oftentimes be all that you have. The interdependence and love between members of the Bank family is heart-warming. As a first-generation immigrant, reading this book was a moving and meaningful experience.  

Bank’s books, The Bus Ride, The Tree of Sorrow, and I Am Terezin are available through Auctus Publishers and can be purchased at www.barnesandnobles.com and other retailers where books are sold.

Winter Break, 2019

July 30, 2023

I drove towards the Poconos for one last task before break, which after it was done, would allow abandon. What a wonderful time and what a wonderful season that was – Right before the Covid 19 pandemic broke out and changed the course of world history.

With my last case visit before break completed, I started my journey home, thinking about how everything was in its place with my work, my parents, and my friends. Earlier that day, my boss told me she appreciated my hard work over the past year and that I deserved a great vacation.

Snow covered the surfaces of the parking lots and yards I passed. The little shops in that town looked like log cabins. Before getting onto the highway, I stopped into a local shop, The Pocono Cheesecake Factory, to pick up a cheesecake. My adopted, ninety-six-year-old grandmother and I, cheesecake connoisseurs, would taste test the cake several times over the next week before deciding that we liked our local Cheesecake Factory cheesecake better due to its softer texture.

My routine dental visit that week turned into a spontaneous but much-needed wisdom tooth extraction, which freed me of gum discomfort. Over break, I relaxed, ate soft foods (cheesecake), and spent time with those I couldn’t spend time with during a typical work week. I found and finished engaging television series like The Haunting of Bly Manor and The Haunting of Hill House, which both reaffirmed the important place in our lives of those we love.

We all get perfect moments in life, which allow us reprieve from life’s suffering, and 2019’s winter break was reprieve and bliss wrapped into one. That time was magical and its memories, and memories like it, have the power to dull any sadness that may come after.

Why Write Anything When Everything’s Already Been Written? by Ayesha F. Hamid

September 7, 2022

Life’s nothing more than a burst of energy that flickers and then ends more quickly than can be comprehended, so writers must race against the demise of everything around them and take on the mission of trying to preserve what surrounds them. Writing is an act of conservation before oblivion.

I write with the realization that the movement of my life will progress so quickly that I won’t even count as one tick in the clock counting the totality of time. My body continues on the predictable path for which it was programmed, self-destruction. Like all else that is mortal, I will be gone without breath, words, or a trace of sound.

Logic dictates that everyone I have ever loved is also finite. Living now, I grasp at memories of those treasured, trying to save them in whatever way I can. Writing enables us to spell out the context that a photograph cannot capture, and this context is what defines life.

Just as I am able to sit in wonder while reading about the history and life of those long gone, I hope earnestly that years and even centuries from now, another might stumble upon my words and know who I was, who I loved, and what it meant for me to be part of the living world: In this possibility, there is some sense and reprieve in what was always meant to be a losing battle.

Demolition in the Tropics by Rogan Kelly: A Review by Ayesha F. Hamid

May 30, 2022

Rogan Kelly’s Demolition in the Tropics is a magnificent read – Within the book’s pages, one finds a world of love, gratitude, and beauty. Kelly observes subjects closely and with care. Rich in unique associations and original descriptions, Kelly’s prose poems show us the beauty in the everyday. Whether he describes stopping in at a diner for breakfast or completing his tasks for a job, the poet successfully encapsulates worlds within paragraphs. Though he is good at describing everyday events, Kelly’s work is anything but mundane. His poems are complex and evocative, and a superficial read will not be sufficient to understand the depth of the work. Upon close examination, the reader understands that although Kelly may be describing what appears to be ordinary, he understands that everyday moments simultaneously contain a multitude of possibility as well as nothingness. While being fully immersed in the text, the reader learns to appreciate the beauty in Kelly’s poems, but with poignant turns, Kelly cautions against trying to possess what is ephemeral. 

Whether it is the wonder of a far away city like Alexandria, Egypt or the perfection of another person, Kelly examines the  subject matter in his poems with a reverence that often eludes contemporary art, reminding the reader of greats like Dante or Petrach. Reading Demolition in the Tropics teaches us that wonder, love, and beauty surround us at all times if we only take the time to observe. At the same time, we are reminded that change is the only constant, which is why we must appreciate every moment. As a poet and reader, I highly recommend Demolition in the Tropics. It is a great study in writing, poetry, as well as the specific form of prose poetry. Demolition in the Tropics is available now through Seven Kitchen’s Press.

“Escape, 2020” by Ayesha F. Hamid

May 17, 2020

A woman scribbles with movement of her pen
is able to change what’s unpleasant
describes only water dripping below
birds singing above
a melody forcing her ear to pay homage
as she writes of sun rays lighting
earth with yellow, green, blue
all the while avoiding thoughts of the virus
raging outside or asking if pandemic
will bring humanity to its knees

Please note: Poetry is compressed to fit smart phone screens. If you are reading this poem on a phone screen, please turn your screen sideways to make sure that you are seeing correct line breaks for this poem.

T. Nicole Cirone’s Nine Nails: A Review by Ayesha F. Hamid

March 30, 2020

How much pressure can a spouse’s loyalty and fidelity withstand? How seriously do individuals take their vows of marriage? How many times can someone help another human being who is clearly lost and has no compass? The answer to these are explored in T. Nicole Cirone’s beautifully written novel, Nine Nails.

In the beginning of the book, things are going great for Nicole – she has a rewarding career as a teacher and has loving and close relationships with her family, including with her twelve-year old daughter. Her parents live right next door. Nicole finds love in a charming, handsome, and successful man who was once a childhood friend. The couple marries, and everything is perfect.

Though not obvious at first, a troubling pattern emerges. Nicole’s husband has episodes where depressing and destructive feelings overwhelm him. Sometimes, he locks himself in his room. He spends a lot of time at bars. He becomes abusive and calls his wife names. According to him, Nicole is the cause of his unexpected behavior, and she cannot do anything right. On the other hand, he can’t do anything wrong. Though another woman may have already ended the relationship by this point, Nicole continues to keep her marriage vows in the forefront of her mind, trying to help her spouse through addiction and turmoil. Her love for her husband abides through every imaginable test and speaks to something that is difficult to find, a fixed heart that continues to be able to withstand anything and everything to preserve the possibility of what could be. Will Nicole’s husband be able to change and keep Nicole’s love, or is the marriage doomed to fail?

Nine Nails is gripping and the author’s skilled use of pacing will keep the reader turning pages to find out what happens next. Cirone places us perfectly in scene with vivid descriptions of time and place. Her use of language is equally masterful as word choices are both meaningful and exquisite. The combination of language and craft details are sure to make Nine Nails a favorite book for readers as well as writers. Nine Nails rises to the level of great literature, transcending time and person and focusing on universal themes regarding human love and loss. It is also a cautionary tale from which much can be learned. Nine Nails is definitely a must-read.

Nine Nails is published by Serving House Books and is available on Amazon.com.

My Memoir: The Borderland Between Worlds

February 24, 2020

Please check out my debut memoir The Borderland Between Worlds which explores issues of immigration, belonging, bullying and mental health. “Not fully belonging anywhere or with anyone is a great burden to bear…but it can be a place of incomparable strength.” The Borderland Between Worlds is available on Amazon https://amzn.to/38RanP5 and Barnes and Nobles: https://bit.ly/2G09M0

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Tori Bond’s Familyism: A Review by Ayesha F. Hamid

January 5, 2020

Family means different things to different people, and Tori Bond explores what family means in her debut, flash-fiction collection, Familyism. Whether her stories consist of children spending time in nature and performing plays or townspeople, sitting in a bar and dreaming of a way out, Bond is able to create entire worlds with a sparsity of words. Bond captures the essence of the mundane as well as the extraordinary; she immerses us in the surreal and magical but keeps us rooted through her skillful exploration of human emotion. The author has the unique ability to make the reader feel deeply; her stories are crafted with care and are guaranteed to fill the reader with wonder. The powerful endings of each story will leave readers mesmerized.

Bond uses her ability to make the reader laugh, but Familyism goes beyond simply being funny; Familyism is equally sad and profound and joyful. While reading, I found the veins of isolation, loneliness, and the yearning for escape crashing over me like a wave. Characters experience the loneliness of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and the settings of the stories don’t offer characters an escape. Again, the reader is drawn into a world of powerful emotion. Regardless of the intensity of feeling Familyism elicits, Bond masterfully balances emotion through her well-timed use of narration and humor. 

I highly recommend Familyism; It is not just a book, it is an experience! The book is a quick read, and the stories flow easily. You will ponder, question, and reminisce. This book could make you laugh out loud, so I don’t recommend reading it in public.