Walk Softly (and carry an ak)

Suzi Q. Smith
Lulu Press (2006)
ISBN 1411677374
Reviewed by Cherie Burbach for Reader Views (3/06)

“Walk Softly (and carry an ak)” is a slim volume of free-verse poetry from poet Suzi Q. Smith. Smith has been writing poetry and performing spoken word for over a decade. “Walk Softly” is her first published collection – with 42 poems ranging in theme from family life to independence to love. All the poems are told from a tough underlying feminine spirit.

Early on in the book is “Prowl,” a raw poem about filling loneliness with casual sex:

“my hollow eyes are sleeping, starved to numb
I’m out of tears for drunken Casanovas,
even still, sometimes
it’s so hard to be alone.”

Perhaps one of the most brilliant poems in this collection is “Sushi,” which conjures up emotions that are pure and strong:

“And you think I can’t tell the difference
between a Mother and a child
so you pop out another baby to show me
you’re a teapot still brewing brewing”

The poem “relapse” speaks of loving a man whose ex-girlfriend is somewhere still in the picture, standing by, saying just enough to taunt. This is written so well that I can almost hear this work being performed as I read the words silently.

The poem “Girl Stress” is a short, smart poem with intense energy. The reader will immediately get wrapped up in this one, bouncing our legs and snapping our fingers to the nervous energy projected:

“wrapping thoughts of joy round my finger like bubblegum
snap
pop
back into my mouth where I don’t have to share it”

“Deserted” is a well put-together ditty on independence and the refusal to be intimidated, and I especially enjoyed “Marionette Man.” This poem has a great rhythm to it, and the “puppet on a string” analogy is very strong. I also thought “Fly For Me” showed an interesting twist on female dominance.

The strongest poem in the book is “Jump Back, Honey, Jump Back.” I found myself re-reading this one several times over, its imagery so strong it will able to pull feelings from even the furthest away place in readers memories. “Jump Back, Honey, Jump Back” speaks of knowing who you are, knowing where you came from, and knowing where you belong. It’s like that moment we sometimes face when we’ re growing up and want to escape our small towns and mediocre surroundings, so we struggle for years and years trying to “make it” – only to come back for a visit, and feel that indescribable quality that says “you are home and this is where you belong.”

One complaint I had about the book was the impossibly small font size. I’m not sure if this was done as a subliminal way to get readers to pay closer attention to the words, or just done while trying to size the book. Several poems experiment with word placement, such as extra spacing, bolding, and underlining. In the poem “Water,” words are placed in the shape of a drop of water. This kind of play feels gimmicky to me and takes away from the other poems in this collection which have such strong merit. All in all, the majority of these works are fresh, raw, and original. I look forward to a follow-up from this modern poet.

Make comment on weblog