This is the testament of the saying: “Never Judge a book by its cover”. I repeat: Don’t let the cover fool you, because after you read it you will come to one of two conclusions:
1- This took SEVERAL years to write.
OR…
2- This was written by a literary GENIUS!
The Rhythm of Life by Randy Gerritse is not something you read, it is something you experience. Just make sure that you take it with a pinch of salt.
The prologue let us know what to expect from the book and sets the tone for what’s coming, and after the final lines, we, as readers are put in our tip-toes for the journey ahead.
This is a poetry book, how can we “tread carefully?” we ask ourselves, already anxious to know the answer, and curiosity leads us to delve into the book. A very nice touch from Randy.
The first of two parts, “The book of Demons” starts off with delicious verses such as
“Trapped within the hourglass of time
I stand numb in falling sands…”
Randy Gerritse
– and it keeps giving, line after line, until you start to realize that the writer is paint brushing to you scenes that you read! Yes, that’s right! It feels like you are reading SCENES that make up tiny movies with plot-twists, that make an even bigger movie, and you know what? It’s NICE!
It’s something unique, something that you probably haven’t felt like yet in a book.
It takes a few minutes to get used to and understand the experience that the writer has written to you. Randy Gerritse has a way of putting his rhymes that makes the reading experience light-up. In each poem there’s a couple of verses that make you go “aha” or “ha!” or even entire poems that make you go “Genius!“, like this one:
“Love glorified –
Randy A. Gerritse
Sugar-coated.
Placed on sale
At discount prices“
Or even the conversation with his own desire that shows his fears or shyness towards his loved one in an imposing and demanding, yet beautiful way.
By the fifth poem, you are a fan. Randy truly is something special with the pen in hand, and if you have had a loved one that is now gone, nostalgia WILL kick in, and you may tear up with these masterfully written lines. It hits ya, believe me.
As warned on the prologue, the book is found in between the lines, as insinuation rules along with chaos in beautifully twisted dances that you cannot help but spin and be spun around with, be it for your glee or your beautiful sorrow.
As you read the verses, you DO understand what they say, but the cool thing is that the weight of the meaning comes as an aftershock, an aftermath of the reading process and you may have to let it sink in to feel the full weight of the message.
It’s impressive, very impressive how Randy Gerritse can pack so much punch with so little words in a poem, few are the poets that I have met that can do this with this much intensity.
Verses such as …
“By killing spontaneity
Randy A. Gerritse
With passive brutality”
…makes us understand, at once that we aren’t dealing with common amateurish poetry.
One of the many beautiful aspects that made me LOVE reading The Rhythm of Life, is that, unlike in most literature, it doesn’t focus on the emotional fragility and softness of the woman in hand, but of the man in a way that shows that men too, can have fears, uncertainties. You won’t find here the MACHO, ALFA-Male bullcrap, but, instead, you will find a human being. A loving human being that even admits still being a kid in a man’s body! And that’s speaks VOLUMES on the maturity of the author, and it makes this book stand out instantly.
This is a poetry collection that one can and should give to other men as a gift and can be used to educate men in valuing their natural emotional aspect more and accepting it.
This is one of those books that you won’t mind spending 20$ to acquire the hardcover version of and that makes you be grateful and proud of owning a bookshelf to put it in.
Another amazing thing that you can understand from this exquisite poetry collection is the mixture of untold devotion and regret of not having shown more and loved more the other person while she was there, and the realization that he could have loved her, and appreciated her more but didn’t due to fear of showing his emotions. I know that, this is kind of mainstream and all, but what makes it original is the indirect way it is show in bits and pieces here and there with powerful verses such as this one:
“However much
Randy A. Gerritse
It pains you now
To watch love
Slip away.
Darling,
It hurts
So much more,
To learn the hard way —
We lose
What we can’t let go.”
It comes off very nicely indeed. It gives us nostalgic painful pleasures of our own misdeeds.
There is a push-pull, love-hate dynamics that escalates as the book progresses until we as readers become aware of the dimension of the chaos that rules the interaction between the two that revolves around admiration and the oh, so destructive force of expectation.
The Rhythm of Life is a surprising Pandora Box that when opened, cannot be closed again or put down. We must endure the spewed chaos and then allow it to close by itself. The book demands being read and entices you to keep reading, by exposing more secrets and mysteries here and there but, in its scenic fashion, only giving you a piece of the whole picture at a time. It’s truly amazing.
The “Estrangement” section of the book is something that deserves a prize on its own. It spits it so bluntly and clearly the ego humankind and proposes a deep reflection onto our ways as a general society, especially on modern times of today were, we surprisingly STILL live by the old ways and let the thought process aside in conformity of the comfort of today’s ways.
Randy Gerritse calls upon the injustices, the superficiality and narcissism, the almost Orwellian reality of today’s society with such force that one is left with just one choice: Reflect upon it. We need more books like The Rhythm of Life , we need to make this book a HIT for the sake of literature, because THIS BOOK IS A FORM OF ART!
Before you grab this masterpiece coated in sarcasm though, I highly suggest you to make a playlist of your favourite mellow ballads in order to fully enjoy this beautifully frenetic and chaotic poetry collection by Randy Gerritse and get ready to be blasted away with pain and clarity until you reach the soothing and loving part of the book.
Pros:
- MASTERY of his own unique poetry style and voice.
- UNIQUE poems.
- EXCELLENT messages and life lessons.
- Piercing points told in a beautifully blunt fashion.
- PLOT TWISTS ON POETRY! I have never seen that.
- Very short and punchy poems that build up onto each other as they progress.
- SOLID imagery in each and every poem.
- Powerful insights told abruptly.
- Emotional writings that force you to feel and get you by surprise.
- CRITICAL thought into the poems that infuse clarify.
- MASSIVE amounts of contradiction that reveal much of what is wrong with our society.
- EXEMPLARY writing approach.
- An ending that makes you smile.
Cons:
- The cover hides the true potential of the book.
- The Book of Light although doing his job, being light and spreading light, – in a personal point of view- took some of the grit of the whole collection. Which is expected.
Favorite poems:
– Lust and loneliness: Rituals of desolation // Desire, raging // She shows me // Expressionless. // The best things in life // Secret Hearts // Lost in Desire // Too many Hard Words // The truth was ever here // In moments, weak // But a glow remains // People in true relationships // Seeking pleasure // Mistaken intentions
– Anger, Wrath and Hatred: Stop Your crying // Fear //Shadowed Flattery // Words clash // Below sincerity // What gives you //What is true for regret
– Estrangement: And the mice prayed // Humanity Shares // Intent alone // Like worms // Unwitting slaves // Words for words sake // Poorly maintained // Unknown faces on a screen // Struggling with // Do not call // Mysteries // The blind recall// Judging morality // How I wish // Such precious gifts of // On we dance // Soulless, uninspired words // Prayers Whispered
– Doubt, fear and indecision : Aware. Afraid. // Feel its claws // If only // Like a grim // Words fall through me // If you appreciate // Unwavered // Most details // I support // Twisted things that should not be // What if // Liberate your desires //Words of reason // Indecision // There’s nothing soothing
– Reflection, depression and regret: Sepia shards // Wilted lotus petals // Retrieving stones // How can the young // Vision blurs // Replaying songs of sorrow // One day // Cuteness makes us forget // Gates of shattered dreams // Wish granted // Eyes Closed to the world // Not all mountains we climb // Am I a joke // I don’t need to be // Too many lives are squandered // Truth undesired
– Pain and Loss: Shell-shocked // Scars unseen // Just as light doesn’t die // Tragedy // Time // Soundlessly // Too late I learned // Moods unpredictable.
– Self-harm: Despite your insistence
– Self-Deception: Confined by laws // Regrets are made // Self-torment // We both // Boundaries bent // Disregard for all I am // No matter // Don’t question // My rapid-fire tongue // There are // Fragile illusion
– Identity: Lessons learned // We cannot expect // I can’t turn back time // Explain me // I friendly nod // My biggest flaw // Why the tears, little boy // Words, like tools // Both kings and peasants // What hats will I wear today? // Seeking adventure // Whenever I read // When treetops dance // Having travelled // Meaning? // Lucida
– Dreams and what’s to come: Trigger my imagination // Love beyond beauty
– Optimism and Positivity: Gasping for // Voice discomfort // Measuring // Try // Delusion after disappointment // Dance // Patience // NO matter
– Love: A subtlety between us // Careful steps // Love // Trust often starts // How I wish // Be forewarned // If acts of passion // Don’t caution me // Trust // Dearly Beloved
– Epilogue
– I live
Lesson taken from the book
“ We are missing a LOT by not reading poetry as often as we read fiction. YEP, that’s right.”
Scribble's Worth 