THE SILENCE BEFORE DAWN
Henry Martin
Lulu Press

Poetic Read ... Recommended ... 4 stars

With THE SILENCE BEFORE DAWN Poet Martin has produced a book of some 54 poems comprising four categories, Categories are: ‘Relationships’ with its thoughts of love, ‘Thoughts’ just that, the poets’ notes and reflections on life in general. ‘Confessions’ presents that which comes from the poets innermost notions, and ‘Surreal’ offers thoughts reflecting the poets personal ideas about things that surround us.

Offering titles included in the section labeled RELATIONSHIPS run the gamut of ‘River in a Sleep’ with its poignant line "I’ve heard your silent whisper but couldn’t understand the words,’ ‘Lucie,’ ‘Still Needing You’ in which the confusion of love is admitted , "I don’t need you anymore!’ though I still want to be forever with you," and ‘Narcissus.’ ‘Elixir’ continues the love/confusion theme "Sometimes I hate you sometimes I love you" , ‘Love?’, ‘On the Side,’ ‘Christine,’ and ‘Guilt’ continue the theme of emotion. ‘The Triumph,’ ‘A Way,’ ‘Slave to You,’ and ‘At Your’ Mercy propel the reader into additional fervent nether regions.

‘Spider and Fly’ initiates the section named THOUGHTS with a question ‘Who Will Love Me Tomorrow’ this elegy is quickly followed by ‘Two,’ ‘Hoping,’ ‘Song,’ ‘Fear,’ ‘Light,’ ‘Utopia,’ and ‘Slither’. ‘A Day In The Park,’ and its thought provoking lines lead the reader into deeper introspective thought. ‘Anthology,’ ‘Not Enough,’ ‘Spectacle’ and ‘Why did You’ transport the reader into additional contemplation.

CONFESSIONS begins with ‘Be Again’ where the line "I create something that good is," stands out in the lyric. ‘Should Have,’ ‘Wish,’ ‘Still Believing,’ asks "I lie I am lied to on the infinitive rotary of life still believing in……?" before moving onto ‘What If.’ ‘Confession,’ continues influencing the reader into further musing. A youthful restless soul is addressed on the lines of ‘Last,’ while ‘Relate,’ causes the reader to consider fear. ‘Pleasure,’ and ‘Roro’ further the reader’s enjoyment of the thought processes.

SURREAL offers the inexplicable ‘How Impertinent’ while ‘Rain provokes us to ponder with the question "Drops falling onto my face piercing my skin burning am I alive?" ‘Carousel,’ ‘A Moment in a City,’ and ‘Dusk’ sustain the whimsical offerings. ‘Imagination’ leads the reader into more introspection with the words, "The rain swallows me hungrily amidst the wreck of the plains where there is nowhere to hide apart of my own imagination."

In his entree work offering a portion of the verses produced during the last decade Minstrel Martin proffers both poetry and illustrations to tickle the fancy and cause the reader to delve a little deeper into himself. The candid, often stark stanzas offered on the pages of THE SILENCE BEFORE DAWN are creative, often musical and always artistic. The poet’s efficacious manipulation of portraiture generates intense, descriptive images for the reader. The work is a meaningful, thought stimulating composition. Lyrist Martin has accomplished something which is so difficult to carry out; he presents art in it’s most courtly mode. Martin offers genuine declaration without confines. In his medley of stanzas Martin touches the essence beneath the planes of our lives. The reader is urged upon a extraordinary journey filled with passion, unanswered queries as well as those which are answered as the poet sees them. The writer obliges the reader to in fact do some thinking in this vocative work.

Not for everyone, those who prefer, cutesy couplets will not enjoy. Those who enjoy the challenge of looking deeper will find THE SILENCE BEFORE DAWN suits them fine. For those who enjoy the genre THE SILENCE BEFORE DAWN is a good addition to the personal reading shelf.

Enjoyed the read, happy to recommend.