LocalLit book review: 'Heart Strings - Forever Wanderer' by Holly Coop of Joliet

One might think a book with the title "Heart Strings - Forever Wanderer" will be saccharine and overly sentimental.

Perhaps some might feel that way about a couple of these free verse poems, some of which have the most lovely "music" to their lines when read.

But "mushy" is not the overall theme of the book.

In "Heart Strings," Coop explores loves in all its facets: the heart's rush of love at first sight to the crushing realization that the one idolized doesn't feel the same.

"Be calm and just move on," Coop advises in "FACE IT."

Trying to change a person with a drifting gaze? Coop says "don't" in one of the title's poems, "Heart Wanderer,"

"The eyes of a wanderer will always be looking, but his vision will never be found," Coop writes. "Because every time love makes her presence, his - will be gone."

Here is its abridged Amazon description: "Heart Strings - Forever Wanderer" is a book of romantic poetry, which explores love and relationships and the emotional ups and downs that encompass us as we forever wander through our journey of Heart Strings."

But some of the poetry eloquently addresses love at its most sublime.

In "Soul Mate + Passion + Fate," coop writes, "Come breathe with me through all eternity."

And in "You," Coop writes, "I love the way you know me, how you see right through my walls, when the song my heart is singing has no reason or rhyme. For some that would be enough to give up and say goodbye. But you are not that kind of guy. You care enough to stand close by."

Coop also acknowledges the "daily" expression love requires in "Take Attendance." It's a sober reminder for anyone who loves anyone in his or her life: parent, spouse, child or friend.

"If you are lucky, it might last forever," Coop writes about love. "If you are foolish, it might slip away. Absence can cause a heart to grow fonder, or drift away. What a tragedy - when love begins to fade. Be present with your love - today."

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Contact Denise M. Baran-Unland at 815-280-4122 ordunland@shawmedia.com.

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