COME JOY! Songs From the Soft of Night
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Bridgette Alyce Greathouse Wynn

ISBN: 1413778038
Pub. Date: June 2005
Format: Paperback, 140pp
Publisher: Publish America

Reviewed by Idrissa Uqdah

From reading only the first four poems in this collection; I knew I was on to something wonderful. Come Joy, Songs From The Soft of Night by Bridgette Alyce Greathouse Wynn will touch your heart when you remember the softness of the nights in your own life. I’ve never seen a collection containing so many poems in one book but it works for Wynn. The more you read her poems, the more you want to read them. Bridgette is a good, solid poet with a gift of words. There are no barriers in her work. It is not surprising that so much poetry flows from her because she is dedicated to the craft of self-expression, observation and emotion in her poetry.

The book is broken up into several definitive sections which organizes the work. I thought that was a really good editing move. It is a book of poems that you will want to leave on your night stand after you have read it in it’s entirety because most of the poems deserved to be re-read. Aptly titled; it expresses the coming of joy after a long soft night.

In the first section; Songs of Love she writes;

If you let me come close
I’ll dress your wounds
and hold you till the
new skin grows
clean and perfect . . .
We’ve picked at the
scab long enough
both of us
and . . . the blood begins
to ooze
There is nothing more
painful than a healing heart
places inside where
my arms can’t reach . . .
Where my lips can’t kiss
away the ache . . .

This poem, All I have is Rain continues but just those lines alone, I thought were very powerful. Wynn’s poetry slices at your memories because the self-expression and perception in her work is unusually good. Her poems flow and are easy to read. Nothing is worse to me than a cumbersome book of poetry. There is nothing remotely cumbersome about this poet’s work. Her poems are clear. Her lines read easily and you know that they have slipped out of her mainly because she is a natural poet.

There is sorrow and joy in these poems. There is peace and love in these poems. There is family, friendship, race issues, struggle and faith in the poems of Bridgette Alyce Wynn. You will recognize a sensitive but strong Black woman from the South in this book. The voice of the poet came through. In the section entitled Songs of Nature she pens a short poem;

The Oracle
she was born to speak to him, who was born to hear
Spirit truths, pure water
rained down on Dormant dream seed
in his faith garden

Ms. Wynn’s poetry can be deep too and you will find many of her poems just give you an image to work with and a brief spiritual word. You will find much inspiration in this book and you will be blessed by the poetry of Bridgette Alyce Wynn.

I haven’t been into much poetry lately so reviewing this book was a treat for me. On a scale of one to five, I’d rate this book a very strong five. Poetry lovers will not be disappointed.

 

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