DOODLES

A collection of free verse explores social injustice, environmental crises, and other international woes.

Charlie begins this volume of poetry by contemplating the mathematical chance of a human actually being conceived and asks “are we a coincidence or design?” The author considers the soul of an insect in “The Fly.” Climate change and its consequences haunt Charlie in “The Devil and the Deep Blue Sea.” The poet juxtaposes a kitchen-sink litany of problems, from global warming to unemployment to nuclear waste, with humans’ ever increasing life expectancy in “Quandary.” An older man named Keith and his harrowing war memories are the subject of “The Right” while a woman with dementia is at the epicenter of “Irony.” Charlie calls for a universal minimum wage, health care, education, and pensions in “An Idea.” The poet asks “How can it be / that we can get a man on the moon” yet can’t solve the “simple problems” of the world, such as electing competent leaders and dealing with climate change, in “Too Late.” Charlie tries a patriotic riff on “’Twas the Night Before Christmas” in “Alone.” The ambitious collection concludes with an intriguing poem about a man who can predict the weather more accurately than Google. Most of this poetry is fervent and intellectually centered. Despite the volume’s incessant focus on Earth, rare is the poem grounded in the natural world. But when Charlie touches down in the wild, the poet shows a strong ability for scene-setting, such as a peaceful paddock where “the insects chirruping throughout the day / & the noise of the sheep pulling at the grass / an old pre-war biplane rumbles across the sky.” Still, the author’s overzealousness and the preachy quality of many of these poems get tiresome. Sometimes, the narrative borders on hyperbole; in “Worse,” the author pits Covid-19 against dirty water, claiming the latter is nine times more dangerous to children than the virus. There is much complaining in these pages, and despite the poet’s urging that “it is up to us / to act quickly,” the pieces offer few suggestions on how to reverse the downward spiral of the world.

A timely and passionate but exhausting poetic rumination on humanity’s and the planet’s trials.