The Good Truth by RB Simon
Poetry, 40 pp
July 2, 2021, Finishing Line Press, KY
Reviewed by Lisa Lickel, www.LisaLickel.com
Simon’s opening biographical poem “Heritage” sets the table for the reader. With its starkness of the opening line and lyricism of internal time and space as its own dimension, we are drawn deeply into our own childhood angst, sharing our trauma with the poet, no matter who we are or how we existed. Any author of any genre who can pull us into her world is an artist. Simon’s art exposes the grit, love, and wonder of who and why she is, and begs us, her readers, to do the same.
“who are you, little i?” spoke to me through the questions of “who are you” from those outside, to the poignant self-wonderment of “who can you become?” Everyone who has hidden under the blanket or in a closet with a flashlight and read till your eyes bled knows how to escape into anyone else’s world but your own.
The 23 poems of The Good Truth are written in prose style, some speak in syncopation and several undulate across the page as they weave tales of discovery, humiliation, joy, resignation, despair, and acceptance. Phrases like “stacked facial muscles into a good morning” from “anything to keep you happy” and “the sound of infinity” from “Retreat” make me sigh in contemplation and revelation. The poem “Indelible” makes me want to make sure my loved ones are safe especially from themselves so that I will never have to feel like a “posthumous voyeur.”
Poetry is an intimate revelation, and Simon carefully peels back layers of the soul to share flashes of her world. Just the right size to breathe in a few poems at a time and contemplate. Lovingly laid out and finely written. Recommended for poetry aficionados.
Reviewer Lisa Lickel from the peaceful rolling hills of western Wisconsin. A multi-published, best-selling and award-winning novelist, she also writes short stories and radio theater, occasional articles, is an avid book reviewer, blogger, and a freelance editor. She and her husband travel and enjoy family time.
