Red Wax RoseShady Lane Press; 54 pages; $15.00
ISBN-13: 978-0-9793056-0-3
ISBN-10: 0-9793056-0-8
In her first book, poet and essayist Darlyn Finch divides the autobiographical story of a red wax rose (a melted candle resembling a flower) into three distinct sections that correspond to passages in the author’s life. The Melting contains poems and an essay relating to the role of wife and mother, a floundering marriage, and thoughts on love. The second section, The Blackened Wick, includes poems and an essay about Finch’s childhood that helped shape her into the woman she is today. The final section, The Ashes Stirred, presents a more optimistic look at life with poems and an essay on second chances, new love, and personal growth.
Down-home Style
Finch has a gift for latching on to minute details that provide insight into the larger picture. For instance, in her poem “Daddy’s Pajamas,” she fully engages the senses in her description of the sight, smell, and feel of her late father’s pajamas, a symbol for the man’s essence after his death. (“I put them in the drawer again – robin’s egg blue – clear sky fresh. No blood, no sweat, no frightened tears to soil them any more.) Likewise in another poem, “Sock Monkey,” she uses an ugly children’s toy (“white-tipped tail and paws, two goofy ears, thick red lips, and soft brown eyes”) to depict the thoughtfulness of a new lover.
Throughout Red Wax Rose, Finch provides an engaging, down-home style for her literary snapshots about biscuits, cars, hunting, clothing, coffee, jelly, trees, love, loss, beauty, and a host of other topics. Each poem and essay reveals the wonderment of a child, but the insight of an adult. Poems including “Mirror, Mirror,” directly compare and contrast these changing perceptions of self with a reflective look at herself as a girl and then again 40 years later.
One particularly appealing aspect of this book is the author’s feeling of authenticity. Unlike many poets, Finch strives to present her stories as simple truths rather than intentional obscurities designed to impress or intrigue. This entertaining collection may prove especially inspiring for Southern women, although it includes slices-of-life to which we can all relate.
About Darlyn Finch
A Rollins College graduate, Darlyn Finch was the Winter 2006/2007 writer-in-residence at the Kerouac House in Winter Park, Florida. Her work has appeared in literary journals, newspapers, online, and on the radio. She is a repeat winner of the Mt. Dora Festival of Art and Literature, cultural liaison for the Society of American Travel Writers Institute, and the author of Scribbles literary newsletter. She is pursuing her Master of Fine Arts at Spalding University.
For more information about poetry, read Poetry for Gifted Children.
