Beginning with Phillis Wheatley who happened to be the first African poet in America, and whose deposition ascertains that black slaves can be both artistic and intellectual, the author describes in her poem “His Excellency Washington,” the force and might of General Washington and his army, and whose actions she likens to ‘tempest and a night of storms.’ With the help of the muse of poetry, she strives to unveil the triumphs of the American Revolution and why it was a virtuous cause.

Another poem, ‘‘And There Was a Great Calm’’ by Thomas Hardy describes the height of sentiments ‘among the young, among the weak and old’ such as fury and despair. He concludes his first and last stanzas with the question ‘Why?’ which makes the reader thoughtfully query the objective of the war. A look at another poem “Summer in England” by essayist and campaigner for women’s suffrage Alice Meynell, brings to light the misery of war and the sad mood that encompassed broken and helpless soldiers as she invokes in her piece, ‘This chaste young silver sun went up Softly, a thousand shattered men’.

These skillfully crafted odes, among many others, combine into one masterpiece that provokes a mirage of emotions even to readers who are not usually inundated by poetry. This collection will leave you dizzy with admiration for the writer’s vivid imagery and general intellect. Reading these decades-old poems feel like one is having a blind date with enchantment to a world that knows no indifference.

A Tomb Guard Remembers by Pasquale with Jen Gordon is a menagerie of craft; a spinning of sound, word choice, alliteration, rhythm, and rhyme that leaves a new resonance or a lit spark in a reader’s imagination. It is a great read that makes one ‘think of the peace to end all wars’ as asserted by Norma J. Griffiths’ poem “The Peace to End All Wars.” I recommend it to all history enthusiasts and peace lovers, as well as readers who desire to be placed in a stark, realistic scene of warfare that showcases the everyday lives of world war soldiers.