An oft-repeated phrase in the creative writing “world” is “show, don’t tell.”
For this review, only lavish examples of “show” can really communicate just how lovely the “Song of Sarahrose” by Sarah Skandera of Lockport really is.
Here is its Amazon description: “Song of Sarahrose, a faith breathed spiritual experience! Poetry that embodies the thirst within us all, the courage to change, and the strength through God to never again fall. Her poetry takes us on a journey through the mind and heart of a broken woman. Calls she cried and clarity she found. A child raised by a twisted world, who found her life in Christ.”
The opening poem/prayer is simple but, like setting the GPS before leaving the driveway, gives the reader a clear idea of where this journey is heading.
May I see myself
The way that you see me
May I love myself
The way that you love me
May I live in the light
That you shine on me
May I touch someone else
The way you have touched me
In “Happy Birthday to Me,” the author shares how she was born, “So full of innocence, So full of life. There was hope in those big bright eyes, There was a beauty in her soul” and then she shares how, through years of neglect and abuse, she becomes a lonely adult, “with that little girl still in there, wishing somebody cared.”
But in “Wish I Knew,” the author takes full responsibility for the direction of her life and prays,
I close my eyes, and wish I knew
How to be, closer to you
How to let the pieces
Of my painful life go like in with the new
Out with the old
How do I forgive myself
For being a person of sin
Is it ever too late to let God in
Through poem after poem, Skandera shows the reader her pain, struggle to transcend her circumstances and mindset, desire to change and grow in holiness, the hopeful joy when glimpsing the Promised Land and the peace she attains in a growing relationship with God. And Skandera expresses each of these transitions with openess, honesty and eloquence.
In “Fortunate,” Skandera wrote:
I learned to be a vital part of my own solution
Trying to learn from Jesus’s words and perfection
Living in the peace of Your Holy protection
Oh how blessed could I be
I prayed for sight
Now clearly I see
A mighty oak has grown
From faith’s planted seed
The light is and always will be
Alive in me
I recommend “Song of Sarahrose” to anyone who has ever struggled.
Buy “Song of Sarahrose” on Amazon.
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