Title: Tearing Petals of Beauty: Poems and Paintings
Author: Bailey C. Weber
Publisher: XlibrisUS
ISBN: 9781669812500
Genre: Poetry
Pages: 182
Reviewed by: Lisa Brown-Gilbert
Pacific Book Review
Doing well to arouse the literary interest Tearing Petals of Beauty by Bailey C. Weber offers poetry fans a decidedly wondrous collection of authentic artistic expressions expressed both through poetic ruminations as well as paintings depicted by the author.
The eclectic verses throughout this work are adeptly built with enticing passages creating visages that imprint the mind with images of stunning clarity. The works span a range of topics, including the themes of love, life, death, loneliness, acceptance and more. Plus, most of the poems have a Gothic feel to them, swelling with strong – sometimes dark – emotions, which do well to command attention. Additionally, many of the works also center around flowers, often reveling in their innate beauty, while giving them life via anthropomorphic attributes, which I found added quite an interesting spin to the poems.
Overall, the book’s set up includes nine sections, each one devoted to a specific topic. Section One includes author Bailey C. Weber’s Personal Favorites, all which set the tone for the remainder of the book with works like Balance for Dainty Daisy and The Flower Petals Blush. Next, section two is dedicated to Love Poems; while this section contains some poignant works I found Honeysuckle and Clematis as well as Vampires, Love and Blood to be particularly beguiling. Onto Section three titled, Problems with Devotions that brings into focus a compilation of poetic narratives that dwell on relationships. Section four, brings on the intriguing subject of Death as the Muse, holds a variety of poems of lamentations seemingly based mainly on love, death and separation. Furthering the poetic journey into author Weber’s heart and soul, the remaining sections are dedicated to Starcrossed Lovers/Unhealthy Love, Loneliness, With or Without Regret, Acceptance, with the final section, Nine, offering a bounty of beautiful paintings done by author Bailey C. Weber.
Altogether, Tearing Petals of Beauty offered an intensely vivid and emotion rending journey through the author Weber’s poetic renderings, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Author Bailey C. Weber has a wonderfully descriptive free-flowing style that engaged me instantaneously. Also, the original paintings made for a great addition to the read; my only qualm being that I wish the paintings would have been placed throughout the book instead of in just the one section, as they deserved to be displayed throughout the book. Minor contention aside, I would definitely recommend this book to fans of poetry; it is a very worthwhile read.
