Title: Second Harvest
Author: Don Agey
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 1796068691
Genre: Poetry
Pages: 158
Reviewed by: Aaron Washington

Read Book Review

Don Agey’s Second Harvest is proof enough that poetry heals the mind and soul. Don Agey uses engaging, pure and modest words in his poetry. Every line makes sense and every verse carries some weight. Reading the book was a pleasant experience as you get to enjoy the word-play and use of literary stylistic devices incorporated in the poetry. I knew I would enjoy every poem in the book when I read the first poem. In the poem ‘Vernacular Angst’, the author talks about his strain to write. Dan Agey’s wording of the text is so absolute that one can visualize the methodology the author used when scribing the poem and what he is doing. I could picture the persona; settled, thinking, struggling to write what was in his mind.

‘Retired’ was another great poem. I could feel the author’s words and the mood he was in while writing the poem. Don Agey is an exceptional writer. His poetry is so excellent that the reader feels as if they are part of the story. The author is engaging with his words and thinks about what his audience would want to hear. Poetry pieces are meant to be short to be enjoyed; Don Agey did exactly that with his poetry. The stanzas are short with few syllables which comprise the whole story. The author was conscious of his rhyme scheme as I enjoyed reading the lines as the rhyming of words spiced up the lines. The author maintains both regular and irregular rhyme schemes throughout the book.

Lovers of Japanese Haiku were not left behind as the author compiled a good number of Haikus. The mood is different with these kinds of poems and one can feel how distinct they are from others. I appreciate the author for having different subject matters in every poem. Getting to go through a variety of topics in a short while was a thrilling experience. Don Agey’s diction is as excellent as his lines.

Some of my favorite poems in the book include ‘Unwound Journey’, ‘Friday Night’, ‘It’s Not All that’, ‘Chasing Ephemera’, and ‘Hollow Places’. I enjoyed the poems for various reasons among them, unique subject matters. I also felt like the author was speaking using a well-defined tone in the mentioned poems. The poems elicited various emotions in me and made me appreciate art and especially poetry more. Second Harvest will have you fall in love with poetry.

In Second Harvest, the reader gets to explore different styles of poetry as well as learn about life for different personalities. Second Harvest is a great book if you enjoy short reads and especially poetry. The book is an excellent piece of literature that has the potential of being a future classic.