Strong in visual imagery. Lyrical, whimsical, magical...They beckon to you from the page, then leave you reeling in a profound and quiet way. Few poets can invoke that sense of wonder and awe we long for after the book has been closed, but Jonel Abellanosa is one who can and does, whether intentional or not.
For example, the poem, Mary of Bethany:
I was returning to Bethany when the procurator/Shouted ecce homo! But I saw him who gave us/Back from the dead our brother, Lazarus./I’d sit at the rabbi’s feet when he visited/From Capernaum, listening to stories of love’s/Miraculous power, stories of reconciliation/Opening to nightlong feasts. He ate with/Overflowing life, his laughter touching./Yet he could slip into stillness in the midst/Of drinking, drums, praise and singing./He said the perfume I poured on his head/Was for his burial. I bathed his feet in tears,/Drying them with my hair, joyful to have anointed/Him, knowing my life’s purpose that night.
I highly recommend this book!
About the Author:
Jonel Abellanosa resides in Cebu City, the Philippines. His poetry has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies based mostly in the United States. He has two chapbooks, “Pictures of the Floating World” (Kind of a Hurricane Press) and “The Freeflowing All” (Black Poppy Review). He is a Pushcart Prize and Dwarf Stars Award nominee.
Published by Alien Buddha Press
Available on Amazon!
