Title: Lost Soul
Author: Brett Hawks
Publisher: WP Lighthouse
ISBN: 979-8-89518-367-0
Pages: 101
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Pacific Book Review
Lost Soul is a bracing collection of poetry which will make readers think. Author Brett Hawks has written poetry that readers will remember.
Lost Soul describes the depths of despair that people can feel. In poems like “Forever and a Day” the narrator describes trying to escape a painful past: “Halfway around the world/almost back again/To learn a lot of lessons/to know I can never win.” There is another poem that details the pain of feeling lost in “Set Me Free,” “I’ve forgotten how to cry/don’t know if I can see/I am still waiting/for someone to set me free.”
While there are many poems about depression, there are glimmers of hope in “The Downward Spiral 2” with the narrator overcoming sadness- “ Life began to have meaning/the spiral again starts to spin/Spinning in reverse/going up instead of down/Bringing me up out of darkness/to enjoy the new life that I found.” Other poems in the text like “Road to Eternity” also explains the narrator’s optimism at beginning a new life – “Working my hardest to stay on course/following my destiny/Carefully navigating/the road to eternity.”
Hawks’ writing is very emotional and evocative of many powerful emotions. The poems have very vivid imagery of supernatural figures like angels and demons which will help readers understand the narrator’s feelings. Lost Soul details the pain that can come from disappointments and loss in life with metaphors about black roses. However, the poetry collection also conveys overcoming pain to triumph and rebuild your life with imagery and verses about rainbows and sunshine. The book conveys a mixture of depression and redemption that many readers will be able to relate to as they read Lost Soul.
Lost Soul would be best for readers who want to read poetry like gothic poets from Edgar Allan Poe or poets that write about mental health issues like Sylvia Plath. In addition to those provocative poets, Lost Soul would be ideal for readers who want to read about the complexity of human emotions from poets like Maya Angelou and Nikki Giovanni. The book would be a great choice for poetry book clubs or for people who want to read fascinating poetry.
Lost Soul is a book that will resonate with poetry lovers and even readers who aren’t poetry experts will appreciate the collection. Hawks has written a thought-provoking poetry collection which readers will remember long after they read it.
