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Review #4710768
Viewing a review of:
 The Mistletoe Berry  [ASR]
A poem based on the folktale of the Mistletoe Bride.
by HollyMerry
Review by Beholden
In affiliation with WdC SuperPower Reviewers Group  
Rated: ASR | (5.0)
Access:  Public | Hide Review (?)
Fascinating poem. I don't know the folktale of the Mistletoe Bride, so I'm coming to this uninfluenced. At the same time, I may make awful mistakes in interpretation. Bear with me.

The first thing I notice is the wording - it's very beautiful, the words chosen carefully and rhyme not allowed to deflect from the correct choice. That was the second thing I noticed, the rhymes and near-rhymes. This avoids the clanging awkwardness of words forced together, not for accuracy, but because they happen to sound the same. Brave, adventurous and the right way to go.

Then there's the language. It's a wonderful mix of modern and past-poetic (if I can coin a phrase). Consider this, for instance:

"My voice frail with age. She will ne'er heed.
The last berry runs to dust in my hand."

The first line flirts deliciously with the past, clear-eyed description of "frail with age" piling on to the traditional "ne'er." And then the bald modern statement, "running to dust," the contrast demanding that we pay attention. And so appropriate, the poem dealing with the present discovery of a reminder of a past that changed lives forever.

I read the thing aloud, interested in the meter and the meaning, and now the full glory of the poem strikes me. The meter's steady beat, coupled with the step-by-step unfolding of the tale, leads us on from vivid image to sparkling vision and ultimate understanding. I sorta get it - the Mistletoe Bride.

Ideally, I would love to deal with each line in turn, considering its meanings and the effect it creates, but this a quest I'm on, a matter of piling on reviews to earn as much as I can, and I cannot spare the time. I'm even supposed to offer ways to improve the piece and that seems impossible now. I'll have a dig and see if I can muster a few quibbles in a moment, although I doubt it.

The plain fact is that this is a beautiful, atmospheric and soaring poem and there's no way I can improve it.

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Beholden


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