libretti lumi by Roy Anthony Shabla

Review by LB Sedlacek
The Poetry Market Ezine Vol. 11 Issue 6

Roy Anthony Shabla gets an "A" in visual presentation for his new poetry book, libretti lumi. Even the envelope it arrived in had a poem by Shabla stamped on the outside -- a clever way to further share his poetry.

libretti lumi is divided into two sections: "air play" (cantata aria) and "word play" (lingua recitativa). Poems aren't titled -- they are numbered making the book more like how an epic poem might be presented.

Poem III in the "air play" section is a wonderful and somewhat playful romp through the ups and downs of love in a relationship. It explores appreciation of the earth, sky, the breeze, etc. "air play"contains grounded poems that reach into the every day but also encompass the universe.

Poem IV in the "word play" section deals with the end of everything: "the city is gone./Maybe it never existed./the streets go nowhere,/come from nowhere,/are nowhere./the buildings are
merely a trick of the light,/a glimmer in the wasteland …" In this same poem, though, Shabla still presents a glimmer of hope including lines such as "I sing./I sing./O you may not think of my
song as singing,/but I sing…" and "I love you/you know this/I do not think".

The last poem (V in the "word play" section) is a fitting end to the book: "We say words/to each other//we say them/ like they mean something…".

There is an overall sense of sureness and calmness in the poems presented in this book. The subjects and symbolism are sharp yet they exude a relaxed state. I'm glad I opened the cover and dived on in -- this is a poetry book I would read again and again.

The Poetry Market Ezine

Purchase libretti lumi from publisher