MELLIFLUOUS POETRY ON THE THEMES OF NATURE AND LOVE

Book Review: "Of The Heart and Soul: A Mellifluous Whisper" by Piyali Mitra

Many poetry books have poems dealing with descriptions of the natural world and love, in which the authors use imagery, memoir and lyrical expressions to paint vivid pictures on their poetic canvas. The author Piyali Mitra has come out with such a poetry book “Of The Heart and Soul: A Mellifluous Whisper”, which forays into themes of love, nature and emotional meditations.

Some rhymed poems are included in this collection, while some poems are free verse. In many poems, some verses rhyme and some do not, and this book can be read by aficionados of both types of poems. Apart from the poetry being mellifluous and full of emotions, the words used in the poems are also adorned and this ups by a notch the poet’s endeavour of putting her point across in an effective way through the poems.

Some of the poems in this poetry collection include ‘Garden – Solace of the Soul’, ‘Love – An Inspiration’, ‘Mother – My Life’, and ‘An Ode to the Leiden Centrum Windmill’.

The author, being an artist herself, draws inspiration from Nature for many of these poems. The book has tried to capture the colours, aroma and essence of water, land, mountains, seasons and even leaves. Consider these lines from the poem ‘Garden – Solace of the Soul’ – ‘Creepers sauntering on the flower bed about to be raked,/ Slumbering peonies feigning to stay awake.’ In this poem, the poet has described her garden as a sanctuary of peace and ecstasy, and as one that takes her to a world of beauty and colour.

This poetry collection also abounds in the feeling of love. In another poem, the poet uses these lines to describe the emotions of bliss that a lover has while remembering their beloved – ‘Tonight as you open your window and gaze the sky/ Full of twinkly stars, a veil of a blushing bride./ The riding moon alights softly on earth, peeping into my room.’

By the poet’s own admission, this is also a memory book remembering the various emotions her mother has been subjected to. As a tribute to her contribution in shaping the poet’s life, she has also penned a poem as an ode to her mother.

This is a book of finely wrought poetry that should be read by readers interested in reading about themes of nature, emotions, contemplations, and love.