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Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide - wanting to be lost within...

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"Each refreshing drop
and its endless source
reminds me of you,
proffering infinite care
and encouragement, selflessly.

Helping to cleanse
my heart of pain
and sneaking in a smile." ~ Ritual Cleansing ~

I truly enjoyed reading "Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide - Wanting To Be Lost Within," a collection of poetry written by Diane Anjoue, whose poems are thought-provoking and reflective of all aspects of life, love, laughter and heartbreak. What made this collection so special is her use of foreign words that add up to the magnificence and "it-factor" to her beautiful poetry.

Here are some examples:

"Mianzi" (a Chinese word which represents the inner dignity that is possessed by every human, which all others dealing with its possessors are duty bound to uphold, and neither to threaten nor to challenge - roughly translated as "face").

"Actions misconstrued
misinterpreted,
written thoughts
twisted for pleasure
turn to broken words." ~ Mianzi ~

"Rou" (Chinese word meaning soft, tender and gentle)

"Soft and tender
the moments saved
true and lasting.
A timeless romance. ~ Rou ~

"Is tusa mo gra de mo chroi" (an Irish phrase, which means "You are the love of my heart")

"It is love turmoil and love ecstacy all in one.
It is pain and yet joyous, so distant and yet so near.
I sit thinking about how my heart is breaking
Yet overflowing with yearning to come home.
Tears pool in my eyes and cloud my sight, as
You take my hand across the heavens, drawing me close
And you whisper to me "is tusa mo gra de mo chroi." ~ Aria of Endearment ~

Being a lover of poetry, I have collected a good number of books on poetry and have written poems and free-verses myself. I do it if and when the spirit-to-write moves me usually on my sleepless nights into "the wee small hours of the morning." And I find Ms. Anjoue a very serious poet who has a unique gift of words and her poetry is very interesting and yet sometimes intriguing. Her mind's eye goes beyond and above par in creating poems that are expressive, heartfelt and evocatively written and this book is a perfect representation of how good a poet she is.

"Across the miles, keys rhythm click
the dips, she sways, tongue in cheek
a night-sworn soundtrack, their musical.
Feathered fingers, quickstep light,
they promised to meet again." ~ A Tango of Two Cities ~

This book is an absolutely beautiful work of art and an ideal gift to someone who shares your love of poetry. With this book, I was introduced to a remarkable-poet-in-the-making. I'll definitely look forward to more of her works.

With my heartfelt recommendation for your reading pleasure.

Diane Anjoue. Remember the name and read this collection of short poems: she is a fine new voice. In this disparate collection of thirty-one poems Anjoue manages to open the windows of memory and expectations, of grief and anger, of crescendo and diminuendo that mirrors the manner in which we all traipse through the world of love - won, lost, and draws.

Often collections such as this can wax superfluous because the author maintains a unidirectional stance. But not Anjoue. Each of the poems feels as though she has entered the minds of as many different women as the number of poems she composes. No, they are not dissimilar in style or content: they are simply and consistently unique, passing the wavelengths of both sides of the threshold of pain - exhilaration to annihilation - that love commands.

Yet beyond the fact that these are poems about feelings and scars, these are writings about descriptions of times and places, moods and atmospheres, dreams and realities and Anjoue's word paintings are fully focused, if Impressionistic. In TRAVELING LIGHT she begins 'I love the rain, but/ it usually chaperones/ my tears,/ I never lack for those.' Immediately we are at her side, knowing her well before she even shares the 'why' of it all.

Contrasts. I suppose that is the operative word here. Seeing life and love from both sides and from within. These are tasty morsels, these poems, and we can only hope there will be more! Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, April 06

"Jolie-laide" is a French expression that implies contradiction, literally "pretty-ugly". For this poet, the words are seductive, "a wonderful quirkiness implying charisma", the poems reflecting both seduction and ambiguity. Indeed, the works include myriad contradictions, love won and lost, regretted:

"Wake up and sip the hemlock...
dull the pain and accept love's demise.

Spread your wings, bare your heart
Teach me a sorely needed lesson." ("Redeemed and Justified?")

There is a sense of opposites, that while love wallows in its charmed existence, its twin, loss, waits in the wings, prepared for the next act:

"Yet being strong is not enough
when my heart opens without pause;
for as the notion of reality invades
my dreams, I'm left numbly wide awake." ("Bel Hevi")

Reading, one cannot help but be caught by the essence of a woman on the cusp of despair, her honeyed words fanciful, joyous, preparatory, followed by tears, anguish, rejection. She is the pursuer, offering bounty, but left to ponder in the morning light what pain her romanticism has wrought:

"Used up and damaged, worthless;
she has naught to bring him. Yet,
he's offered more than he deserves." ("Tempered Anguish")

Sprinkling in cultural references ("wabi-sabi", "Sassafras Bitch") and the occasional line in French, it is difficult to intuit these poems, each new ecstasy burdened with the requisite payment in anguish. Truly, amour is laced with danger for the romantic, highs followed by throes of despair and the burden of tears. Certainly jolie-laide is evoked, too few the moments of contentment without drama. Luan Gaines/ 2006.

What Rembrandt did with a brush, some paint and a piece of canvas, Diane Anjoue has done with pen and paper. She can paint a picture with words and you don't need to stand back to appreciate it! Wanting to be lost within...I gave, five stars.
But...if I could, I'ld throw in five more stars, because it IS that good!

"Within you I lose myself, without you
I find myself wanting to be lost again..." ~Anonymous

Diane Anjoue's beautiful spirit infuses her poetry with the sheer perfection of description. Romantic elegance often turns to profound conclusions as in "Mianzi." Silence is a place to think by a screen window while it rains and the ebb and flow of longing is ever present. She goes beyond "my heart is yours" and declares: "My heart is within you."

As she captures moments with her creative world, you start to want to be lost within each poem filled with a rhythm that invites many sentences to be read a second time just for the pleasure of playing with words.

"Adobe markings
steeping
in a misty bath of tranquility,
Nature's orchestra
sweeping me under it's nightcap spell
Sandalwood and chamomile
gently enveloping my senses,
Humility,
awash in a pool of tepid relaxation,
dissipating" ~Ritual Cleansing

I am amazed by her poem "Ritual Cleansing." Here she connects with an invisible realm where you are cleansed by the thought of another human being as if there was no separation between bodies, but only a flowing of the soul from one moment to the next. She continues this theme in "Carried Away" when she is showered with tears. The images show a high level of awareness where I often wish I could live. She is honest, caring, soft, brave, filled with longing and often dreamy in her strength.

"Rain drenched hair, sun kissed skin
swallowed by imperfect normality...
Cherry stained lips, dew dropped lashes
tainted with laughable purity..." ~Separate Lives

"Weaving Gypsy Spells" is a poem highlighting images of Autumn, turquoise seas, sandalwood and seaside storms. The poem in itself is delicious with images of baklava and vanilla and then warms beautifully with a story of family life and taking care of her baby while they all eat breakfast in bed.

Diane Anjoue finds a certain ecstasy in the sheer beauty of description. She goes beyond poetry and creates moments of perfection filled with the scents of essential oils, delicious foods and whispering nights. Her heart is ever present, always connected to the words she uses as if they are an extension of her soul melting into the pages like lavender honey. This is a woman who has loved deeply, tasted emotional perfection and experienced the depths of romantic longings. I am comforted by this beautiful invitation to mingle with her world for moments. Poetry Collection de Jolie-Laide is one of the most beautiful books of poetry I have ever found.

~The Rebecca Review