Title: Wild Roses and Others
Author: Clara Mellor
Publisher: AuthorHouseUK
ISBN: 978-1-5246-6348-3
Pages: 80
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by: Beth Adams
Pacific Book Review Star
Awarded to Books of Excellent Merit
The collection of poetry within the title Wild Roses and Others is comprised of 35 years’ worth of poems written by the late Clara Mellor. The book was put together by Jennifer Mellor, the daughter-in-law of the deceased poet as a tribute both to Clara, her family, and as a gift for others to enjoy. Enjoy we will, as in my years of professional book reviews, I rarely have seen such harmony of kindness in wordsmithing, excellence in her bold and thought provoking prose. This book is a masterpiece of a literary artist, a humanist, a follower of God, a healer to many. As similarly what Clara Mellor did in her career as a nurse to the bodies of those in need, her poems are pillars of reason, deductions, inspirations and reflections capable to heal the minds of those experiencing life’s hard lessons of love lost, mortality and the struggle in shaping one’s belief in God.
Interleaved with beautiful drawings and watercolors, the artwork compliments the poetry making this a collection of human creativity both visually and mentally. This collection is presented by the poet without her apologies to anyone whom may find her work offensive or disagree with her insights. The depth of use of the vernacular in her wide and creative choices of words makes for this to be at times a challenging read to capture the fullest impact of her work; causing my needing to re-read the poem a second or third time, while still allowing time in-between readings to think about what is being meant by the poet. This is by far one of the most enjoyable experiences; that is being challenged to grasp the inner feelings of the poems, unlike the vast majority of superficial poetry books.
In “My True Love” she says, I’ll paraphrase, her lover does not love her anymore and how their embers of love only remain. This caused my left eyebrow to be raised with appreciation to her insight to the candid way in which she opens herself up to her readers. In “Jesus Christ” she uses a circular use of “being raised” to signify Christ raising a banner to give strength to others while in the end using his strength to raise himself to heaven. In “Man” she says men seek God yet God is in all men – simple, to the point.
Although I read this book in the electronic version, I will be purchasing a hard copy for my personal library. Wild Roses and Others, as with all fine poetry books, are best kept in their printed form, as they can be picked-up, read at any starting point, then put down. Ideal as a companion book on a trip, especially in India or while hiking the Himalayas, as did Clara’s daughter-in-law Jennifer upon deciding to publish this book.
