"Care"

"Care"
Written by Mary Briggs
Reviewed by Diana Iozzia


"Care" is a wonderfully crafted book of poetry, written about the loss and grief Mary Briggs endured when her young son passed away from a battle with cancer and health complications. Our hearts break with Mary Briggs as we read poems about before he was sick, while he was sick, and we also hear her son's last words. This is an incredible work, and it should be praised, similarly to books by Joan Didion and Joyce Maynard.

There are many great poems in this collection, so I will mention the ones I like. If there is an asterisk next to a poem's name, it signifies a favorite:

"Tomorrow" *
"Winds" *
"Elusive Happiness" *
"Waiting"
"The Sun Shines on the Outside"
"I Am a Bench"
"I Am a Child / Was"
"Past Resurrection"
"I Know"
"A Great Wall"
"New Year" *
"Come Home"
"Grief and Your Blazer" *
"Haunting"
"Quiet Morning" *
"So I Stood on the Hill"
"Stop 7:30 a.m. Silence"
"13 Diaries"
"God's Soul Primaries"
"Could I Have Captured?"
"Early"
"Breathing, Trapped in a Submarine"
"Packing A Life" *
"Grief Blazes Red" *

In the end of the book, we have a list of lovely but saddening memories of Mary and her son. This was reminiscent of the final portion of "Mortality" by Christopher Hitchens, told by his wife.

Unfortunately, I have to point out quite a few grammatical errors. Also, one of the poems is printed twice, which is quite confusing.

Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoyed this book of poetry. I received a complimentary copy for reading and reviewing purposes from Olympia Publishing.