“Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested”– this quote of Francis Bacon immediately came to my mind after I finished reading Balroop Singh’s latest collection of poems, “Timeless Echoes”.
I was quite busy for a couple of months and during those days, whenever I managed some “me time”, I used to read a few poems from the book. I could have read the book all in a go; the poems are neither big nor complicated, but I wanted to savour their myriad flavours, wished them to linger in my mind. That’s the way Balroop composed her poems, as Bacon had said, her book is meant to be chewed and digested.
The poems, according to the poet herself, are inspired by life. Life, as we see it, feel it from different perspectives. Some hues of life change from time to time, but eventually, their changing shades are etched in our hearts. Balroop has given words to those shades, those emotions of life.
Each passing moment of life is a lesson in itself, as Balroop says in "Moments That Echo"
Each moment an experience in itself
We grow in its glow to wend and win
Divesting the ignorance of our thoughts
Solace echoing within!
The deep emotions of a woman’s mind have been reflected in another poem, "Echoes Within"
My workplace may be chaotic,
My work is erratically endless
Rewards may not be instantaneous
But I have won the greatest Grammy.
I am a mother
In my hands is the future
And the pride of my family
My world revolves around you.
In the poem "Yearning", I got the flavour of Wordsworth as Balroop expressed her unadulterated love for Mother Nature and her desire to be a part of her.
Let me be a cloud that floats freely
Wandering wherever I want to be
Smiling at humans hushing their desires
Of absolute freedom!
I can go on citing lines for each poem is unique; they speak about love, life, small happiness and worries we experience in the journey of life. The reader at once can feel the poet’s passion and a strange feeling of oneness, a kind of intangible yet conceivable conduit that makes her/him comfortable. It’s not always easy to “enjoy” a book, but Balroop’s writing has that quality. I recommend the book to all poetry lovers, it’s a treat for your soul.