Title: A Walk in Time: Poetry from Real Life About Love and Death
Author: Sal Mallimo
Publisher: Independently Published
ISBN: 979-8764195186
Pages: 82
Genre: Self-Help / Relationships
Reviewed by: Alyssa Avina

Read Book Review

The beautiful thing about poetry is it can take on so many different forms. There’s a million different ways to approach it and unique, creative themes to explore when letting the words eloquently pour out of you. Sometimes, an author of a beautiful book of poetry somehow just touches on everything you’ve felt in your life. You feel as though they wrote it specifically for you, and that is precisely what I felt when reading A Walk in Time: Poetry from Real Life About Love and Death, by Sal Mallimo.

The approach this author took for his collection of poetry was two-fold.  First, became a project he had worked on to gain a better understanding of the digital age and how it coincides with art. In this case, he explored using the technology of today as a means of self-expression. But he also wanted to tell tales of romantic love and escapades, of heartbreak and grief, of finding love and of losing it. The book itself uses his poetry to tell these wondrous stories, stories that he also illustrated with original drawings, photographs, and even celestial paintings which he enhanced in photoshop.

It is a wonderfully unique take on the poetry genre and immediately had me intrigued. But it was, as I was reading, that I realized what a truly talented poet this man is. One of my favorite poems, “Elyse at 18,” depicts a young girl, grieving the loss of her mother, grappling with this new reality without her all the while growing even closer to her father. Adolescence is a hard time for anybody, let alone someone missing the guidance and love from their mother. But you can see throughout the poem that while she is grieving that loss still, she also sees her father as her constant. Someone who has been and will always be there for her, regardless of any ups-and-downs they have. Who loves her unconditionally. And she is thankful to her mother for picking her father in the first place. It is a tragic yet hopeful poem filled with love and light.

On the other side of the spectrum, on the page titled “Four Short Poems”, there is one, in particular, that struck me. “The Feel Of You” talks of new love. The excitement of it all, how charmed and entranced you are by this person, and how much you long to be with them. The author’s depth and range in his poetry is truly a sight to behold. Quite honestly, this incredible wordsmith touched my soul with his words and for that, I am forever grateful. Be sure to pick up a copy of “A Walk in Time: Poetry from Real Life About Love and Death” by Sal Mallimo today!