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Sublime Shadows Of Life
Sublime Shadows of Life is a comment on life, its turbulent curves and relationships. It envisions people through the prism of poetry. I, you, he, we and they are universal symbols which highlight the fact that happiness is not a destination but a chasm to bury agony, anguish, grief, distress and move on! No sea of solitude is so deep that it can drown us. Sometimes aspirations are trampled upon, the boulders of exploitation and discrimination may block your path but those who tread on undeterred are always successful.
193 pages, Paperback
First published December 1, 2013
4 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Balroop Singh
14 books82 followersBalroop Singh, an educator, a poet and an author always had a passion for writing. She would jot down her reflections on a piece of paper and forget about them till each drawer of her home started overflowing with poetic reminders, popping out at will! The world of her imagination has a queer connection with realism. She could envision the images of her own poetry while teaching the poems. Her dreams saw the light of the day when she published her first poetry book: ‘Sublime Shadows Of Life.’ She has always lived through her heart. She is a great nature lover; she loves to watch birds flying home. The sunsets allure her with their varied hues that they lend to the sky. She can spend endless hours listening to the rustling of leaves and the sound of waterfalls. She lives in California. You can visit her blog at http://balroop2013.wordpress.com
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 10, 2020
Sublime Shadows of Life is the fourth book of poetry that I've read by author Balroop Singh. Although I don't ready poetry regularly, I often find myself in need of something different each month, so I look for lyrical prose and commentaries on life. Singh's treasures offer just that, and this time, it had a bit of a darker side than normal.
Life is not always fair. We experience pain and injustice. As Singh tells us in an early poem, we brood alone. This one forced me to think about the words... why exactly do so many of us keep our feelings inside, fearful to share them? Childhood trauma? Shyness? Lack of knowing how to safely express without fear of retribution? Brooding is the perfect word, and I pictured our poet, our narrator, sharing his/her feelings as a way to brood alone yet brood together. In her paradox of a gilded or golden cage, more truths became evident. We lock ourselves behind intangible / invisible bars because it is both safer and a way to punish ourselves. Are they golden because there is a glimmer of hope that we can escape, or gilded because under the surface is something less shiny?
Singh is an analytical writer. Her word choice is always on point... sometimes I wonder whether it comes naturally for her to speak in such beautiful imagery or is it through methodical intuitiveness that she can conjure the emotions we all feel? She presents the idea of a valley of happiness... how many of us think happiness is normally at the peak? This is an area where we must re-read her poetry a few times to find the middle ground and introduce our own subjectivity into interpretation. It's a wonderful experience to connect on these levels with an author and her words.
Full of pain, these poems are darker than normal and they focus on the tyranny we often feel trapped inside our own minds... but then there is a swift pendulum swing to the positive, albeit for a short period. This is life. Highs and lows. Sometimes we're more depressed or fearful than others. I am glad to see the range in her narrator's emotions and thoughts... it's a good representation of reality for many people who are caught inside their own head and dilemmas, be they real or imaginary. Sometimes our minds make drama seem more than it is, but at others, like in many of these stanzas, there is real pain creeping out, asking for help and guidance.
I liken the message in this book to the flight of a baby bird... the poet shares the journey to grow and become one on your own, but you will fail on occasion. Sometimes you drop from the nest, hard and fast, and at others, someone can pick you up. I leave you with perhaps my favorite memory in the poem - the debt I carry. We all have this emotional package of history, and how we choose to share it or learn from it defines who or what we can become. Singh's book made me think a lot last night... and I saved writing this review until this morning to let the words flow more freely. A solid 4.5 stars.
Life is not always fair. We experience pain and injustice. As Singh tells us in an early poem, we brood alone. This one forced me to think about the words... why exactly do so many of us keep our feelings inside, fearful to share them? Childhood trauma? Shyness? Lack of knowing how to safely express without fear of retribution? Brooding is the perfect word, and I pictured our poet, our narrator, sharing his/her feelings as a way to brood alone yet brood together. In her paradox of a gilded or golden cage, more truths became evident. We lock ourselves behind intangible / invisible bars because it is both safer and a way to punish ourselves. Are they golden because there is a glimmer of hope that we can escape, or gilded because under the surface is something less shiny?
Singh is an analytical writer. Her word choice is always on point... sometimes I wonder whether it comes naturally for her to speak in such beautiful imagery or is it through methodical intuitiveness that she can conjure the emotions we all feel? She presents the idea of a valley of happiness... how many of us think happiness is normally at the peak? This is an area where we must re-read her poetry a few times to find the middle ground and introduce our own subjectivity into interpretation. It's a wonderful experience to connect on these levels with an author and her words.
Full of pain, these poems are darker than normal and they focus on the tyranny we often feel trapped inside our own minds... but then there is a swift pendulum swing to the positive, albeit for a short period. This is life. Highs and lows. Sometimes we're more depressed or fearful than others. I am glad to see the range in her narrator's emotions and thoughts... it's a good representation of reality for many people who are caught inside their own head and dilemmas, be they real or imaginary. Sometimes our minds make drama seem more than it is, but at others, like in many of these stanzas, there is real pain creeping out, asking for help and guidance.
I liken the message in this book to the flight of a baby bird... the poet shares the journey to grow and become one on your own, but you will fail on occasion. Sometimes you drop from the nest, hard and fast, and at others, someone can pick you up. I leave you with perhaps my favorite memory in the poem - the debt I carry. We all have this emotional package of history, and how we choose to share it or learn from it defines who or what we can become. Singh's book made me think a lot last night... and I saved writing this review until this morning to let the words flow more freely. A solid 4.5 stars.
January 19, 2019
Sublime Shadows of Life is a beautiful expression of the poet, Balroop Singh‘s, own life, and personal observations of other people’s lives, in poetic form. The poet pays tribute to her thoughts, dreams, happiness, sadness and joyful moments in this lovely book. There are also poetic depictions of the darker side of life, as indicated by the use of the word “shadows” in the title. Abuse, loss, discrimination and oppression feature in this collection. The poems are freestyle and reading them feels like taking a walk through the mind of the writer.
My favourite poem in this collection is called Dreams and these are the first two stanzas:
“Like soft flowers under our feet
Like lovely drops of first rain
Like moonlight soothing our eyes
Like water boats floated with childlike charm
Dreams remain our precious possessions.
***
Dreams gently caress us, carry us along
Awaken us out of their magic
Sometimes, stimulate us into activity
Encourage us to embark on the journey
To make a beginning, to plod on.”
I particularly enjoyed this poem as it is uplifting and provides encouragement to follow your dreams and believe in them.
A beautiful book that will provide the reader with hours of reading pleasure.
My favourite poem in this collection is called Dreams and these are the first two stanzas:
“Like soft flowers under our feet
Like lovely drops of first rain
Like moonlight soothing our eyes
Like water boats floated with childlike charm
Dreams remain our precious possessions.
***
Dreams gently caress us, carry us along
Awaken us out of their magic
Sometimes, stimulate us into activity
Encourage us to embark on the journey
To make a beginning, to plod on.”
I particularly enjoyed this poem as it is uplifting and provides encouragement to follow your dreams and believe in them.
A beautiful book that will provide the reader with hours of reading pleasure.
December 6, 2018
“Sublime Shadows of Life” is a perfectly titled book, from author Balroop Singh. Each poem easily glides into the next yet each one is its own entity. Singh captivates your heart, drawing you into her words, allowing you to feel the pain, the love, the longing for lost possessions and the fear of death. These complex emotions will have you rooting for the underdog, no matter who it may be, though you find yourself in many of the verses.
A journey through the ups and downs of life, we find there is always light after the darkness, there is always freedom from the demons who haunt, and there is always a chance to breathe new life into one’s own broken soul. Singh provides us with a means to forge ahead, and never give up.
This book is truly sublime poetry, written with the pen of a beautiful soul. Her words will clearly speak to you, as they did me.
A journey through the ups and downs of life, we find there is always light after the darkness, there is always freedom from the demons who haunt, and there is always a chance to breathe new life into one’s own broken soul. Singh provides us with a means to forge ahead, and never give up.
This book is truly sublime poetry, written with the pen of a beautiful soul. Her words will clearly speak to you, as they did me.
January 24, 2021
This is the third collection of poems I've ready by Balroop Singh, and as usual she does not disappoint. It's an unveiling of the human condition through the prism of poetry, touching on a wide variety of themes and scratching on many different emotions. I really enjoyed this variety, while also appreciating that the writer's voice seems to be projected through each poem. If I were to extract a random selection of poems from all poetry collections I've read and reviewed thus far on Goodreads, I feel it would be easy for me to distinguish Singh's, and I like that.
One qualm I have with some of the poems is that sometimes a single poem seems to have multiple and various rhyming schemes within it; I'm not well-versed enough in poetry to know if this is a freestyling choice, an actual method, or just plain experimentation on the writer's end. But it didn't bother me too much. I like that nearly all of Singh's poems are pretty open to interpretation, while a few themes that stand out most prominently are those of love, loss, memory, and parenthood--regarding the latter, she explores the joys and pains, the fleeting snapshot moments and the eternal underlying compassions. She also seems to revisit the past, sometimes cherishing good memories and sometimes grappling with or exorcising toxic ones. Throughout all her poems, lovely visuals are interwoven with deep emotion. It's hard to pick favorites, but some of the most memorable, for me, were "My Pearl, "My Voice," and "Despondency".
One qualm I have with some of the poems is that sometimes a single poem seems to have multiple and various rhyming schemes within it; I'm not well-versed enough in poetry to know if this is a freestyling choice, an actual method, or just plain experimentation on the writer's end. But it didn't bother me too much. I like that nearly all of Singh's poems are pretty open to interpretation, while a few themes that stand out most prominently are those of love, loss, memory, and parenthood--regarding the latter, she explores the joys and pains, the fleeting snapshot moments and the eternal underlying compassions. She also seems to revisit the past, sometimes cherishing good memories and sometimes grappling with or exorcising toxic ones. Throughout all her poems, lovely visuals are interwoven with deep emotion. It's hard to pick favorites, but some of the most memorable, for me, were "My Pearl, "My Voice," and "Despondency".
April 30, 2021
Balroop Singh’s poetry has a knack for touching on universal themes, while also remaining quite personal. She acknowledges the darkness of life, but her writing simultaneously embraces optimism and an appreciation for the better angels of our nature. My favorite poem is “Parental Bonding,” told from the perspective of a parent looking over their child, anticipating what the future holds. Nice work.
May 4, 2018
Singh has written a beautiful and generous collection of approximately 80 poems. Like most books of poetry, they lend themselves to a leisurely read, and Singh’s words surely invite a dose of quiet contemplation. Her poems struck me as personal, based on her experiences as well as her observations of others. She’s clearly a person who has sifted through a wide variety of human emotions and conditions from the more personal realms of love, parenting, abuse, and loss to the broader arena of societal injustice, discrimination, and oppression. None of her poems struck me as whimsical, but as the title suggests, they explore the shadows of life, not all negative, but deep and often unobserved as we bustle through the surface busy-ness of our days. A lovely read for anyone who enjoys rich poetry with a lot of depth.
May 28, 2019
Sublime Shadows of Life is a beautiful poetry collection. Balroop Singh reflected on the painful and distressful past shadows found in unfulfilling desires, disappointment, confusion, discrimination, rejection, grieving, lost passion and loneliness. The poems voice the longing for education, justice, friendship, love and happiness yet life was caged in with clipped wings. The hope and attachment brought anguish and painful fall to cause withdrawal and detachment. The poet resolved that happiness is to smile at the shadows, find positive strength from within, pick up the threads of life, and move on to the success of future.
The poet skillfully depicts her personal and observed experiences which bear universal applications. Readers will enjoy the rich poems with deep emotions.
The poet skillfully depicts her personal and observed experiences which bear universal applications. Readers will enjoy the rich poems with deep emotions.
September 6, 2022
I always enjoy poetry by Ms. Singh and this collection was more beautifully written poems. It’s seeped in emotion that not only touches the heart but gets the reader thinking. It can be read within an hour or two but is meant for the reader to savor. Here are just a few of the many lines that caught my attention and moved me. The Land of the Dead: “Someone entered the land of the dead/Dragged life along ahead/Stirred them out of their slumber/but before muffled voices/could be heard, he was yelled at/Cursed, chastised, forced to quit. Know Shadows: “Dark moonless nights/Are the nights I crave for,/All shadows vanish and merge/Into the corridors of life. Eternal Wait: “Misty mornings/Eerie silence, long walks/Through the woods/What is this place? So familiar!/Nostalgia is painfully pleasant. Magic of Heavenly Drops: “Those soft falling drops/Tiptoe into your heart/To carry you along/Into the dripping trees. A wonderful collection that I can highly recommend to all those who loved to be moved by exquisite words.
May 9, 2021
Opening this book, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Yet when I read the short bursts of poetry that I realized that like the author, Balroop Singh, I often see moments in life like “scenes” in a movie.
Ms. Singh is an educator and author of many books. While I can’t speak for her intention in writing it, I can say that for myself, her words awakened several emotions within me. As a visual person, I “saw” the passages as if they were film scenes. Possibly another reader will “feel” them as emotions. Each reader absorbs the work on an individual level.
Some passages took me back to my childhood, while others motivated me to think about things in the present day.
Poetry lovers will find so many beautifully written passages to reflect upon.
Ms. Singh is an educator and author of many books. While I can’t speak for her intention in writing it, I can say that for myself, her words awakened several emotions within me. As a visual person, I “saw” the passages as if they were film scenes. Possibly another reader will “feel” them as emotions. Each reader absorbs the work on an individual level.
Some passages took me back to my childhood, while others motivated me to think about things in the present day.
Poetry lovers will find so many beautifully written passages to reflect upon.
May 17, 2021
This is the second collection of poetry I've read from this author. Like the first book, Balroop Singh's poems are evocative in spite of their simplicity. She seemingly effortlessly paints pure emotion with her words.
In contrast to the earlier collection I'd read, these poems focus on the loss of innocence and hope. Many of the poems seemed sad and a little depressing as they expose life's disappointments. Still, somehow in the end the reader is left with hope. Well done.
In contrast to the earlier collection I'd read, these poems focus on the loss of innocence and hope. Many of the poems seemed sad and a little depressing as they expose life's disappointments. Still, somehow in the end the reader is left with hope. Well done.
June 20, 2020
The verse in this book is beautifully written and leaves the reader with the feeling they've been given a glimpse into the author's soul. A glimpse the author freely shares. It's also a reminder that there are places in this world were life for a woman is a dreary existence at best.
I especially enjoyed reading this at the end of the day when I could let the words flow over and envelope me.
I especially enjoyed reading this at the end of the day when I could let the words flow over and envelope me.
December 16, 2022
Singh’s “Sublime Shadows of Life” is a poetry collection that touches on life’s aspects hidden in our minds and hearts. Broken relationships, unfulfilled longings, failures, and lost dreams…all find acknowledgment in this book. Through her poems, readers are helped to see the light in the darkness.
May 19, 2021
This is an easy read that has a little something for everyone. Whether you're happy, sad, or lonely, there are words that will show that you're not alone. Others have walked in the same path.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews