Allen Smuckler

Missing Moments Allen Smuckler

This book of poems divides up well into six parts. To a degree the reader finds a poetic growth from adolescent to adult, although I find it difficult not to admire some facet of each poem. What I do note about myself as a reader is that I want to read the next poem, I want to continue in the world of imagination and reality that the poet offers in a frank and often powerful way. As with almost any poet, there are phrases and images that stand out, and comments about life that strike the reader's conscience. This latter moment is when I find myself smiling at the words in front of me. These are the moments that Allen Smuckler molds images of his life into a memorable figure; these are the moments for which I recommend this work. At times I think the poet lives too much in the mundane clichés of everyday life - and yet that is what makes the collection valid, for the poems do not shy away from telling truths about life. Rhyme, alliteration and other literary techniques are to be found amid Smuckler's lines, yet it is their usage that proves the poet a wiser man than most, a keener observer of relationships that bind him to his personal world. From the chuckles I yield when reading "Remote", yes the television remote, to the undeniable revelations of "Fences", the poet's honesty must strike the reader with a wish to re-read a poem; the urge to continue reading Missing Moments does not fade. Even the brutal thoughts within "Squirrel" intrigue rather than repulse me; even the simplicity of some of the early poems elicit the truths from youthfulness. This volume holds its own among the loose abstractions of the latest poetic publications. B Lindsay Denyer; poet, artist, teacher