Review of ‘Life on the Blue Planet’ by Cheryl Batavia

The forthcoming poetry collection, Life on the Blue Planet by Cheryl Batavia, is not just a book, but an experience. I must start by remarking how beautifully presented it is: I love the fonts, layouts and colourful photographs which adorn its pages. As for the poems, from the moment I started reading, they made me smile with their bold metre and bright, rhyming lines. Cheryl does not shy away from formal poetry, and writes perfectly-constructed sonnets which are a pleasure to the reader’s ear.

The book is divided into sections, opening with ‘Perspectives’ and closing with ‘Mother Nature.’ Each section contains a suite of beautifully balanced poems in keeping with that particular theme. In the first section, the moving empathy of ‘The Benefit of the Doubt,’ expressed in lines such as:

That woman who wears too much makeup
may be trying to hide
bumps and bruises inflicted
by her drunken husband last night.

Is a theme which continues through the poem ‘Nobody Cares:’

‘Quest for the Holy Grail’ is an accomplished sonnet, and ‘Security at the Masquerade Ball’ offers a fun take on the form. I like the opposing views of ‘Storm Clouds’ and ‘Sunbeams,’ which reminds me of Blake’s contrasting Songs of Innocence and Experience, and I also love the message of ‘Fountain of Youth:

‘Yes, Fairy Godmother, I wish to think young!’

‘Mountain Girl loves Delta Boy’ tells the story of how Cheryl met her soulmate, Robert:

Our childhood memories of countrysides,
Victorian homes with lawns where we once played.
Your life among the cotton fields so wide,
my life where corn grew tall and cattle grazed.

I found the section on ‘Family’ particularly touching, especially poems such as ‘Parenthood:’

‘If we didn’t love,
we wouldn’t feel the anguish…
wouldn’t share the joys!’

I felt this sentiment deeply as I read, and I also loved ‘Quoting Mom:’ I often find myself quoting my Grandma’s words of wisdom as I grow older! ‘To my daughter, Ellen’ made me emotional, as I await the arrival of my third child, and think back on those landmark moments in my older sons’ early childhood:

As you took your first steps, I was proud
of your growing independence.
With every little mishap, I felt your pain.
Your every milestone filled me with pride.

In the ‘Nostalgia’ section, I enjoyed the whimsy of ‘Circus Dreams,’ starkly contrasted with ‘Striving,’ a poem which encapsulates the journey of life, from beginning to end:

Leaving the serenity of the womb at birth,
we strive all our days upon the Earth…

As I read the atmospheric ‘Grand Dame of Peace River,’ I could just picture the scene, alligators and all!

The ‘Mother Nature’ section contains depictions of Florida wildlife, which I find fascinating, as it is so different from the wildlife I am used to in the UK! Although the Lake District is home to some famous Ospreys, so I particularly enjoyed Cheryl’s poems, ‘Osprey, Death Angel’ and ‘Ospreys, Loving Parents.’

I hope the scenario envisioned in ‘I Remember Rainbows’ never fully arises, though I fear it is already starting to take hold in some places, as witness the polluted rivers here in the UK:

No fish are swimming in polluted streams;
Clear rivers flow to shining seas in dreams.

‘One Earth’ is a powerful sonnet reminding us of our responsibilities to take care of our home planet, at least if we want to go on living here for the foreseeable future!

The book ends with a rallying cry to the cicada to ‘come out of your shell/and sing your song,’ which seems appropriate for a book so well attuned to the rhythm of life on earth.

I highly recommend this poetry collection to anyone who appreciates the beauty of the natural world, and the melodious qualities of Cheryl’s of lyrical poetry.

Cheryl’s book is due for publication soon: you can follow her blog for updates. I will see you next week for the launch of A Bracken Fern!

Ingrid