Inspiration for the fifty-one poems comprising Alicia Daniels’ “Book of Poetry 1” may not be the only gift that she has gotten from her Christian faith but it has been a rewarding payback. The giveaway here is the concession which she makes in her introduction that her literary offering “represents a much concentrated effort.” Nor does she neglect to credit her God for the opportunities offered by her Church “to present poems” for milestone events and various occasions and to have them published in the (no longer published) Guyana Christmas Annual.
Never in her poetry does she wander too far from her religious moorings, the exception being, arguably, the piece with which she begins the book, “My Life-A Personal Reflection”… a piece dripping with reflections on “good starts” and “failed efforts,” “leaps and bounds,” “ups and downs.” Here, like so many other writers, she uses her work to tell stories about herself, her triumphs, her disappointments, and her abiding faith in the God that she serves.
The rest of the pieces are, inevitably, anchored in inspiration – the exception here being the second poem, “A Guyanese Experience”, that distracts, fleetingly, from the underlying theme of the overall collection to articulate her experience of ‘being Guyanese’.
Everything else is underpinned by a simple but profound poignancy… from her “New Season”… “full of hope and possibilities” to “The Ultimate Sacrifice” which, in its own less than subtle, way seems to tell a personal story.
If poetry isn’t all of Alicia’s life, it is certainly a great deal of it. The endnote to the 27-page publication informs that her creative offerings “span a variety of themes,” most of them celebratory… like “New Year’s Eve Anniversaries and Weddings.”
Alicia’s poems are pleasing, each of them underpinned by some worthwhile message that is rooted in concepts like hope and optimism.
In a season of some of the more demanding challenges confronting our society, and others, Alicia’s poems can serve for many as a worthwhile distraction.
The Author can be contacted by e-mail at aliciadaniels592@gmail.com
