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Waves
A poetry book of Magical Realism and Romanticism. Waves details the movement of celestial bodies, the natural beauty of Thomas’ local geography, and the searching human heart.
- GenresPoetry
112 pages, Paperback
Published October 13, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
December 3, 2023
After reading ‘Undertow’, I had high hopes for ‘Waves’ and I was not disappointed. Here are more poems about nature, friendship, love and connection. But it’s much more than that.
On the surface, a poem might simply be a note to a friend about time spent together or apart. But look deeper and you’ll discover the poignant yearning for meaningful connection, and a deep and abiding love for nature. Look deeper still and you will find wisdom that comes from deep contemplation.
Waves are a recurrent motif--waves arising in bodies of water, waves of emotions, waving goodbye, sound and light waves--underlining the interconnectedness of all things.
Waves ebb and flow, lull and swell, crest and dip, their peaks and troughs mimicking the highs and lows of Life. It takes courage to plump the depths of human experience, to go against cultural norms (‘Across the Table’), to allow ourselves to feel and express grief and pain (‘Mending Fences’).
Waves fling themselves time and again upon uncaring surf and indifferent shores, not quite knowing why, only sensing the imperative (’The Waves and the Wind’, ‘Breathe Along with the Sea’). It takes wisdom to know that nothing lasts, to know when to catch our breath, and when to try again.
Deeply contemplative, richly layered, bursting with the wisdom of lived experience, these poems show us the interconnectedness and impermanence of everyone and everything. If we truly understand this, would we be kinder to ourselves (‘Returning’, ‘State of Mind Shine’), to one another (‘In The Cold’), and to Mother Nature (‘Letter to Betsy’)?
Poems crafted to evoke emotion, to convey layers of meaning, come alive with beautiful imagery (‘Change of Seasons’, ‘Bobbing in the Waves’, ‘Lifetime’), clever turns of phrase (‘Mortal Frequency’, ‘Time to Reflect’), apt metaphors (‘Lions and Lizards’, ‘Winter Beach’, ‘Glass House’), and vivid descriptions that delight the senses (‘September Market’). Sometimes, you even get all of the above in one poem (‘Evolution’, ‘Now and Then’, ‘Glass House, ‘Swan Song’).
So many of these poems beg to be read between the lines, to have us glimpse through the seen to the unseen, to the translucent heart that shines through carefully chosen words, uncovering heartfelt messages.
And that is the power of poetry--to allow what is subtly said but deeply felt to touch another soul.
On the surface, a poem might simply be a note to a friend about time spent together or apart. But look deeper and you’ll discover the poignant yearning for meaningful connection, and a deep and abiding love for nature. Look deeper still and you will find wisdom that comes from deep contemplation.
Waves are a recurrent motif--waves arising in bodies of water, waves of emotions, waving goodbye, sound and light waves--underlining the interconnectedness of all things.
Waves ebb and flow, lull and swell, crest and dip, their peaks and troughs mimicking the highs and lows of Life. It takes courage to plump the depths of human experience, to go against cultural norms (‘Across the Table’), to allow ourselves to feel and express grief and pain (‘Mending Fences’).
Waves fling themselves time and again upon uncaring surf and indifferent shores, not quite knowing why, only sensing the imperative (’The Waves and the Wind’, ‘Breathe Along with the Sea’). It takes wisdom to know that nothing lasts, to know when to catch our breath, and when to try again.
Deeply contemplative, richly layered, bursting with the wisdom of lived experience, these poems show us the interconnectedness and impermanence of everyone and everything. If we truly understand this, would we be kinder to ourselves (‘Returning’, ‘State of Mind Shine’), to one another (‘In The Cold’), and to Mother Nature (‘Letter to Betsy’)?
Poems crafted to evoke emotion, to convey layers of meaning, come alive with beautiful imagery (‘Change of Seasons’, ‘Bobbing in the Waves’, ‘Lifetime’), clever turns of phrase (‘Mortal Frequency’, ‘Time to Reflect’), apt metaphors (‘Lions and Lizards’, ‘Winter Beach’, ‘Glass House’), and vivid descriptions that delight the senses (‘September Market’). Sometimes, you even get all of the above in one poem (‘Evolution’, ‘Now and Then’, ‘Glass House, ‘Swan Song’).
So many of these poems beg to be read between the lines, to have us glimpse through the seen to the unseen, to the translucent heart that shines through carefully chosen words, uncovering heartfelt messages.
And that is the power of poetry--to allow what is subtly said but deeply felt to touch another soul.
December 26, 2022
I have a real fondness for poets. Not only because I have one or two in my family, but because poets give us back the world as it is through a fine, sharp lens. And maybe I'm generalizing a titch, but the poets I read also tend to be tender-hearted.
Pj Thomas is one such soul. "Waves" is her second poetry collection, rich with imagery and natural landscapes, primarily bodies of water. Within her words, I feel a deep longing for connection with loved ones, "beats and notes/of our bodies humming" and communion with the natural world, cows with snouts of "rubber and velvet, are licking salt from your hand". Reading her words, I felt a great sense of peace wash over me, like I had pulled up a chair beside Thomas herself overlooking the Otonabee river, engrossed in silent being and her warm presence.
Pj Thomas is one such soul. "Waves" is her second poetry collection, rich with imagery and natural landscapes, primarily bodies of water. Within her words, I feel a deep longing for connection with loved ones, "beats and notes/of our bodies humming" and communion with the natural world, cows with snouts of "rubber and velvet, are licking salt from your hand". Reading her words, I felt a great sense of peace wash over me, like I had pulled up a chair beside Thomas herself overlooking the Otonabee river, engrossed in silent being and her warm presence.
March 31, 2023
Waves is the second collection of poetry from Canadian poet, PJ Thomas. As the title would suggest, the movement, influence, and power of water in all its literal, figurative, and metaphorical guises form a strong, foundational theme for many of the poems.
Thomas’ poetry is rich and immersive both in imagery and emotion, accepting and celebrating the natural world’s force and strength with us as scintillas by comparison to its infinite wonder, mystery, and beauty.
The collection is extensive but the poems are succinct and approachable yet quietly breathtaking in their wistful insight and poignancy. Although there is a very personal voice to her poetry, Thomas has clearly considered her audience and the poems have a wide, objective net in which to capture the majority of readers.
There is a plaintive note of regret through some verses but this does not render them depressing or elegiac, far from it. Most in the collection are retrospective contemplations and appreciations of life with its intimacies and experiences combined with a serene if grudging acceptance of our ultimately diminishing place in the cosmos.
Human transience is just that, her poems reflect, and there is very little we can do about it, even if we do feel unbearably sad. The flourishing abundance, endurance, and unpredictability of nature and the elements will provide quiet fulfillment, however fleeting, to those that come after us as it did to those who came before, and we should embrace it while we can.
Technically, Thomas’ poems are polished and accomplished. In the main, there is no traditional rhyme scheme as such, but eye rhymes, wordplay, and similarity ensure the collection scans comfortably.
The tempo and rhythm are reminiscent of the fluid ebb and flow of the ocean, words turn and return to each other, bubbling up and running on, giving the impression of an organic, evolving body but, in actuality, being quite tightly structured.
Thomas can encapsulate in one, simple line, the profoundly bittersweet agony and ecstasy of existence. Indeed, there is a simplicity to how her poems read, which is deceptively clever and also very lovely.
Notwithstanding, there are poems that riff more on the seemingly mundane and these have a whisper of jaunty humor about them. “Social Worker” and “You in the Room” are good examples of this, although they still vibrate with the pathos of the human condition and I especially liked the subversion of “The Springtime Weather”.
Waves is an absorbing, accessible, and evocative collection; vivid, beguiling, and beautifully captivating. Highly recommended.
Thomas’ poetry is rich and immersive both in imagery and emotion, accepting and celebrating the natural world’s force and strength with us as scintillas by comparison to its infinite wonder, mystery, and beauty.
The collection is extensive but the poems are succinct and approachable yet quietly breathtaking in their wistful insight and poignancy. Although there is a very personal voice to her poetry, Thomas has clearly considered her audience and the poems have a wide, objective net in which to capture the majority of readers.
There is a plaintive note of regret through some verses but this does not render them depressing or elegiac, far from it. Most in the collection are retrospective contemplations and appreciations of life with its intimacies and experiences combined with a serene if grudging acceptance of our ultimately diminishing place in the cosmos.
Human transience is just that, her poems reflect, and there is very little we can do about it, even if we do feel unbearably sad. The flourishing abundance, endurance, and unpredictability of nature and the elements will provide quiet fulfillment, however fleeting, to those that come after us as it did to those who came before, and we should embrace it while we can.
Technically, Thomas’ poems are polished and accomplished. In the main, there is no traditional rhyme scheme as such, but eye rhymes, wordplay, and similarity ensure the collection scans comfortably.
The tempo and rhythm are reminiscent of the fluid ebb and flow of the ocean, words turn and return to each other, bubbling up and running on, giving the impression of an organic, evolving body but, in actuality, being quite tightly structured.
Thomas can encapsulate in one, simple line, the profoundly bittersweet agony and ecstasy of existence. Indeed, there is a simplicity to how her poems read, which is deceptively clever and also very lovely.
Notwithstanding, there are poems that riff more on the seemingly mundane and these have a whisper of jaunty humor about them. “Social Worker” and “You in the Room” are good examples of this, although they still vibrate with the pathos of the human condition and I especially liked the subversion of “The Springtime Weather”.
Waves is an absorbing, accessible, and evocative collection; vivid, beguiling, and beautifully captivating. Highly recommended.
March 2, 2023
This is an very good volume of poetry by a contemporary poet I had not heard of. I received a review copy of the book and am pleased to say I quite enjoyed it. There is a rhythm to the poetry's ebb and flow that is, in fact, reminiscent of waves. Her metaphors are beautifully done and the poetry is evocative - at times nostalgic and often a mix of wonder and joy as well as sadness at the temporal nature of life. It is well done and I would recommend it for any reader of contemporary poetry.
February 1, 2023
review of WAVES by PJ Thomas
Whether it be the whirling motion of a mesmerizing Sufi dance, the measured movement of a waltz or a polka, or the restrained abandon of a Virginia reel, PJ Thomas sets her sites upon a form of “ferocious dancing” that choreographs and gesticulates through vivid, striking images that gives her new collection Waves a kind of homespun surrealism that constructs poetic language out of everyday objects and occurrences.
An anthropomorphic element surfaces at one point when fruit and vegetable become simmering enlivened symbols that glide out of the poet’s consciousness and create sharp, distinct ways of seeing the commonplace as both startling and joyfully unsettling. Peaches, tomatoes, cracked peppercorn, crickets and ducks join with mahogany rails, cut marble, aloe vera, and potted tropical plants that “festoon the dining room / creating candour.”
Ultimately the reader, accompanied by these mesmerizing inanimate beings, takes a journey through this object laden landscape that addresses layers of friendship, fruition, and the fear of future isolation where “everybody weeps differently” - both in and out of enforced and re-enforced solitude, both remote and intimate. It is an environment of surprising force and comfort that simultaneously calms and disrupts. PJ’s words embody varied and moving ‘waves’ of meditation. She creates movement and depth of emotion as witness to the intricacies of landscape - “fruit-bearing cherry trees, ginseng growing wild, and prickly pear mixed with the stand of oaks” as well as the broad, compassionate, searching swaths of human interaction, questioning, and evolving nature.
Whether it be the whirling motion of a mesmerizing Sufi dance, the measured movement of a waltz or a polka, or the restrained abandon of a Virginia reel, PJ Thomas sets her sites upon a form of “ferocious dancing” that choreographs and gesticulates through vivid, striking images that gives her new collection Waves a kind of homespun surrealism that constructs poetic language out of everyday objects and occurrences.
An anthropomorphic element surfaces at one point when fruit and vegetable become simmering enlivened symbols that glide out of the poet’s consciousness and create sharp, distinct ways of seeing the commonplace as both startling and joyfully unsettling. Peaches, tomatoes, cracked peppercorn, crickets and ducks join with mahogany rails, cut marble, aloe vera, and potted tropical plants that “festoon the dining room / creating candour.”
Ultimately the reader, accompanied by these mesmerizing inanimate beings, takes a journey through this object laden landscape that addresses layers of friendship, fruition, and the fear of future isolation where “everybody weeps differently” - both in and out of enforced and re-enforced solitude, both remote and intimate. It is an environment of surprising force and comfort that simultaneously calms and disrupts. PJ’s words embody varied and moving ‘waves’ of meditation. She creates movement and depth of emotion as witness to the intricacies of landscape - “fruit-bearing cherry trees, ginseng growing wild, and prickly pear mixed with the stand of oaks” as well as the broad, compassionate, searching swaths of human interaction, questioning, and evolving nature.
February 19, 2023
I came to “Waves” having not read any poetry for some time. To be honest, I eschewed it because it often made me feel too much, and in these fraught times I found that dangerous. Thankfully, PJ Thomas’ poems are softly stealthy, thrilling the mental ear with delightful word play and rhythmic lines. Water and waves, moon and stars. I can handle that: “spruce trees of blue and green/ match the moss on the rocks;/ lichen clinging like lace/ to the craggy cracks/ of the cold stone face.”
But so often embodied in those verbal pleasures are potent, keen desires; rich wisdom; heartfelt sorrow; loss or fear of loss. They sneak up on me: “The waves conclude/ on daybreak beach/ wet sand shines/ remarkably/ like fool’s gold”
So I am very happy to have survived the experience. Thomas’ poems, usually one or two pages long, are redolent with emotion expressed serenely, very often love for a friend or partner. And even the more plaintive ideas smooth out to acceptance and peace, like a sage shaking her head, “Yes, this is how it must be.”
Poetry is difficult to discuss without resorting to quoting abundantly. Even so, it’s hard to select a few lines when, of course, all the words must be taken together for the effect. I’ll try parsing one more (“How People Are Made”) because the last lines made me gasp: “ One red stone/on the bottom of the lake/ had known the touch of a feather,/ the waves of the world . . . . We are made of the same stuff, . . . an amazing revelation/ that this rock can be my blood./ I dive for the one red stone, bring it to the surface,/ and swallow it whole.”
But so often embodied in those verbal pleasures are potent, keen desires; rich wisdom; heartfelt sorrow; loss or fear of loss. They sneak up on me: “The waves conclude/ on daybreak beach/ wet sand shines/ remarkably/ like fool’s gold”
So I am very happy to have survived the experience. Thomas’ poems, usually one or two pages long, are redolent with emotion expressed serenely, very often love for a friend or partner. And even the more plaintive ideas smooth out to acceptance and peace, like a sage shaking her head, “Yes, this is how it must be.”
Poetry is difficult to discuss without resorting to quoting abundantly. Even so, it’s hard to select a few lines when, of course, all the words must be taken together for the effect. I’ll try parsing one more (“How People Are Made”) because the last lines made me gasp: “ One red stone/on the bottom of the lake/ had known the touch of a feather,/ the waves of the world . . . . We are made of the same stuff, . . . an amazing revelation/ that this rock can be my blood./ I dive for the one red stone, bring it to the surface,/ and swallow it whole.”
October 4, 2023
I find poetry books a bit difficult to review. The subject matter can be so varied, besides which poems are meant to be savored bite by bite and not devoured in one large gulp. I enjoyed reading these. Thomas' descriptions of nature and human nature are spot on. The poetry has an almost nostalgic feel. "Across the Table" 'You can't live another life than the one you're currently weaving. I have no regrets, no strife, but sometimes when I'm dreaming, I think of being someone's wife...' There is wonder, joy, sadness, all the emotions many of us feel on a day to day basis and Thomas has brought these feelings to the forefront.
I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing, PJ Thomas and PAJE Press, in exchange for a review.
I received a copy of this book from LibraryThing, PJ Thomas and PAJE Press, in exchange for a review.
September 20, 2023
Not fond of poetry, but enjoyed this one.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews