Below the Brightness

by Steven Searcy

Below the Brightness explores the life of the spirit, searching for the light piercing into a world that is full of darkness. These spiritual reflections often look to the danger and beauty of the natural world-the cycle of seasons, the lives of trees, the flight of birds-always listening for the quiet hum of hope and redemption. Most of these poems employ the traditional tools of meter and rhyme, often with strikingly compact lines, condensing images and experiences down to diamonds of clarity. These musical verses aim to offer an honest expression of the frail and flawed human condition--looking forward to the divine brightness, crying out in prayer, and sometimes breaking through to praise.

Genres: Poetry

69 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 4, 2024

About the author

Steven Searcy is the author of the poetry collection Below the Brightness (Solum Literary Press, 2024). His poems have appeared in Southern Poetry Review, Commonweal, The Windhover, Blue Unicorn, Autumn Sky Poetry Daily, New Verse Review, and elsewhere. He lives with his wife and four sons in Atlanta, Georgia, where he works as an engineer in the field of fiber optic telecommunications.

Reviews

[Joy Kidney · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a compelling collection of reflections, on faith, on nature and seasons, and more. I especially enjoyed He Calls Them All By Name, Tabernacle, Nativity Song, Dusk Fog, and this last stanza from the poignant verse Do What Cannot Be Left Undone:
Say what cannot be left unsaid--
before the frigid night,
before the books are read,
before the dimming light,
before the empty bed,
say what cannot be left unsaid.

[Mary Grace Kroef · Rating 4 out of 5]

Below the Brightness holds a combination of poetic styles, some modern, some classic. The author's love of nature permeates the pages as well as his Christian faith. It was a great first poetry collection for Searcy.