Silver Roses

by Rachel Wetzsteon

Genres: Poetry

104 pages, Paperback

First published November 20, 2010

About the author

Rachel Todd Wetzsteon was an American poet.

Reviews

[Christina M M Rau · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published posthumously, Silver Roses combines all of Rachel Wetzsteon's key elements of poetry. The poems combine the skill of form and meter with the cleverness of wit and observation. Her view of the world includes "The Menaced Objects Series," a poem of little snippets from points of view of inanimate objects. Her view is so refreshing.At times, the poems are a bit too clever--if that's possible--the oddity overpowering the text. The allusions to a variety of literature combined with her inner workings creates a balanced, relatable collection. The last section, The Tennis Courts At Stuyvesant Town, harkens back to Sakura Park; the poems in both reveal her true strength: embodiment of the city.

In this embodiment, there is merriment, but there is also sadness, the kind of sadness that somehow uplifts and tears down all at once. The title poem encompasses all this emotion:

"if violence like this / could never sound like violins / . . . / And I am trying to / fathom the way I got from there to here, / the joy that snuck up when I'd sworn off joy; / we've made a sterling start, we've got a plan / to watch it on your satin couch downtown / and I'll be there upon the stroke of eight, / bearing my trembling ungloved hand / a silver rose for you."

[Jenny (Reading Envy) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Posthumous poems of a promising poet.

[Ida]

I especially enjoyed the poems inspired by Edward Gorey.