Cold Comes Through

by Jim Bennett

Life is about loss. In the end, we all die. Yet we may face illness and reduced capacity, expected and unexpected, with fear or courage, faith or despair. These poems are about that experience. They include love and hope woven by human beings, against the darker background of inevitability. There is some escapism in these pages also, and a couple of funny bits as well. The untimely death of my father was the inspiration for more than one of these poems. Sometimes funerals seem to come in flocks, with a new loss every few weeks. Sometimes a chance remark will bring back an image, a laugh, a ghost. I have captured some of that in this volume. You will find cinquains, mirrors, rhymed stanzas, a rondeau, one prose poem, and blank verse. You will find deliberate ambiguity and harsh accuracy. Some poems are easily accessible, and others may benefit from a second reading. Some are literal and some figurative. You'll figure all this out. These poems were written for us, that is, for you

80 pages, Paperback

First published November 30, 2013

About the author

Jim writes poetry. He has degrees from UofT in pure mathematics, and worked in data processing, claiming the title of Mister Systems Architect at one time. Not your usual suspect for poetry, eh? Jim knew he was going to write, and from about age sixteen. He also knew that he wanted a real life, and poetry was not going to fund one. Thus the intent to become a math professor, and instead becoming an application developer.
There are currently seven poetry books available on Lulu and Amazon. Jim also does Amazon Kindle Book Reviews, and is sometimes the only listed reviewer of poetry.
Jim's philosophy of life is complicated, a mess actually. His starting point was Shroedinger's book title, What is Life? Then Joseph Campbell and Bruce Feiler. Then the Koran, in two English translations. Jim claims to be an atheist, and then writes poems like Galapagos Search, where he speaks directly to God, finding no answer ... or does he? What does Quantum Mechanics, the uncertainty principle, and chaos theory combine to make possible? Intelligence.
So expect the odd bit of weirdness in Jim's poetry, and expect an experience.

Reviews

[Joseph Spuckler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cold Comes Through by Jim Bennett is the author’s first of five poetry collections. Bennett is a poet from Toronto and graduate of the University of Toronto. This book comes to me as a request from another author. After my initial reaction to the "I have this friend..." email, I checked up on Bennett. His interests cover much ground in many different directions from religion to quantum mechanics and from tropical fish to data processing. It seems we traveled down many of the same paths and both ended up with poetry. I took that as a good sign.

I didn't read the press release or the book's description before starting. Sometimes I like to see if the poetry catches with me. The writing here is clear and concise with a message that envelops the reader. There is no hammer that drives the message to the reader it is simply wading into the poetry. From the start "Made to Last" shows the Bennett can create imagery that lasts:

leaving gifts on the shelf of memory gone like kindling
into the stove of time.

The concept of loss and remembrance is perfectly captured in "Aft Cast", a fishing analogy, that will not have the reader thinking Bass Pro Shop or any fishing cliche. Its message is almost as universal; simple and clear like a parable. The poems also carry the themes of cold, nature, and time. There are many excellent poems in this collection, but one, in particular, stood out for me.

"Facing December" takes the reader through the year as seen by one person of a life-long couple. It opens with the line “How did our lives become December?” It is a powerful and meaningful journey through life. Spring takes a full stanza. Summer takes less and October and November collectively take two lines. All that is left is to make a stand, hand in hand, and face December. The poem also reflects our perception of aging, as we get older, time seems to move faster. The eternity of years of waiting to drive, to buy a drink legally, suddenly seems like a high-speed race to old age.

Not all poems have a serious take on serious matters. For those of us old enough to remember life before Windows, Bennett reminds us of the days of running CHKDSK on our ailing hard drives. Our minds are much like those ailing hard drives. Sectors go bad. Memory is lost. Bennett mentions an old friend who had a stroke and lost "entire file extensions" and cannot remember things that happened after a certain date. It is like no one hit “save.” Backup drives are incompatible with the new but damaged system. There is even a mention of the blue screen sky. It left me thinking if only there was a CHKDSK/f for the human brain.

Loss is something we all face at different times and in different ways. Be it death or the loss of the person we know as a result Alzheimers it often leaves scars on those still living. Scars were pain that has healed and as with most scars they memory is not always a bad one. As time passes we are left wondering what of our life will be remembered. We, however, are pretty much defenseless against aging and its effects. We all experience loss and one day we ourselves will become a loss. Bennett takes us on the journey and reminds us what is most important as we travel through life moving ever closer to our own December.

[Louis Swartz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found the title o f this volume is very descriptive of the poems. The cold comes through - the hardness of life - the brutality of living, loving and dying is experienced.


There is also an empathy and a hope as well as a respect of our fellows and what they confront in living a day
on Earth.


Some notes on individual poems:
"An Awakening" So captures the world of a three year old.
"Gouram" I love the line, "What you don't know about death,/you will find out the hard way.
"Facing December" My favorite. Lovely description of love through seasons.
"Hospital Food" Perfect description of this vapid perversion of food.
"Disturbed Mirror" Could break the hardest heart.
" In Convenience" Wonderful take on death.
"Rummage" The exquisite pathos contained in the objects.
"Life Story" Complete desolation captured with still a thread of hope.
"Stamps" Again, the physical objects giving an intimation of strongly felt emotion.
"Alzheimer's" A confront of something so difficult to confront.

The book has a hard confront of life. The poet does not shy away from difficult subjects
such as physical, mental or spiritual deterioration. That being said, there is a terrific admiration
of the courage it takes to live life each day. IT GIVES ME HOPE.

Louis Swartz

[Inge Borg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry Perfection

Writing—and reading—true poetry is often associated with admitting vulnerability. Reading it, you have to let it in. Writing it is a lot more arduous: You have to let it out. And letting it out, Jim Bennett does with Cold Comes Through, Book 1 of his five-volume poetry series.

Having read Bennett’s poetry series in reverse order, his first volume—I find—is the most melancholy as it deals with loss, grieving and remembrance. Death hovers nearby, cloaked in autumn leaves, or the heartbreaking throes of Alzheimer’s. But Bennett’s insight into human nature always treats the most dire of his themes with dignity and grace.

After re-reading Cold Comes Through, I know I shall do so again, as I will surely re-read the entire series from time to time. Poetry creates a cultured haven from the blustery world that trammels us daily. Jim Bennett’s poems are some of the best I have had the pleasure ever reading.