Title: A Soldier’s Thoughts, Memories, and Prayers: A Collection of Poems
Author: John B. Carter
Publisher: iUniverse
ISBN: 978-1-4759-9750-7
Pages: 172
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
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Pacific Book Review
What became obvious to me while reading this collection of poems by John B. Carter in his book titled A Soldier’s Thoughts, Memories, and Prayers, was the unique perspective a soldier has on life. They are not much different than each of us, however they are placed into a role, a lifestyle, routine so abstractly unique by bringing the fragility of life and death to their doorstep every day. This results in a level of candor, honesty and spiritual commitment much more distinct, as his poetry is extraordinarily deeper, more intense and humbling than, for example, a beat poet reflecting on sunsets or some wordsmithing playfulness. Life is real, death is ever-present, and his poems are powerful.
In his introduction, Carter describes his life as being compared to pieces of stained glass, signifying the many “colors” of his past; fitting together seamlessly, with the sunlight of God shining the light from behind. I truly was impressed with this imagery. He drew an illustration of the image of the glass window as well using a Dogwood tree as being rooted to the Earth. His poems bring the elements of involuntary separation of his life from things which he loves, even his wife, having the responsibility of his service paramount to personal desires. His poem titled Death repeats the words of a voice asking, “Are you playing tricks with me?” One line in the poem I took to heart is, “You’re a liar telling the truth.” How profound.
His work is devoid of humor. There is really nothing funny about being a soldier. It is an honor, yes. The responsibility isn’t to his commanding officer, but rather to God. The consistent interleaving of Bible verses in Psalms and references to his faith are obvious from his poetry that without devotion to God, his ability to perform is “job” would be impossible.
Another of my favorite poems is The Gravedigger Digs. Carter talks about how life goes on with simple enjoyments of children playing and going to school, shopkeepers going about their business, ordinary people doing their daily tasks, while all the time, in the background, “The Gravedigger digs – whistling ‘Dixie.’” Then, once his digging is coming to its end, “The Gravedigger digs – humming ‘Amazing Grace.’” I feel the juxtaposition of such a dichotomy of poetic images and musical scores reveal how keenly aware Carter is to scribe these scenes in such a beautiful poem.
Illustrated with a series of old photographs depicting the daily incidents a soldier would be involved in, along with some black & white photos of nature. The galley text is thoughtfully laid out with impeccable attention to detail, clearly obvious of the time and attention Carter has put into his writing. Open and honest, revealing himself to the reader with candor and humility, he transports the reader into the world of a soldier, a warrior, not with a weapon but rather with a pen. This is a clear example of a poetry book which will support the adage, “The pen is mightier than the sword.”
