THOUGHTS OF INDIFFERENCE

Flello’s debut poetry collection is a meditation on life, love and nature.

Readers looking for substance and insight as well as those hoping for escape may balk at something calculated to arouse indifference. Nor is indifference what Flello’s collection of poetry generally explores. The first half of this volume is primarily a repetitive series of the sort of sentiments found in greeting cards, such as “For this and all your love, I hold you in love’s hope dreams my beautiful darling”; “I paint your name across my dreams”; and “Trust my life. Trust my love. It’s all for you.” A few more substantive and unusual sentiments are eventually evoked, such as when the author muses: “If you see me with tears in my eyes, and we are not bound with the closeness of love, then I will kill you.” The latter part of the collection is more varied and interesting in its topics and language, employing rhyme, stronger meter and deliberate rhythm. Standout lines include “A Gypsy jazz queen will sing you a song, about / the children and where they have gone. / A knight in armour that’s shining of course, he / will let you down but he’s full of remorse.” Along the way there are some truly arresting and engaging ideas about nature, as well; Flello addresses the possibility of further integrating nature into our worldview: “Gonna buy myself a wind farm, and stick / it in a tree, then light up all the lovely trees / so all the world can see.” But the poet quickly abandons rather than develops such ideas with a throwaway line, “Just shows what happens when you are bored.” It’s unfortunate, as moments like this suggest a truly unique sensibility. 

Toward the end of this haphazard collection, biographical statements hint at difficulties the author has overcome; it’s hard not to be intrigued by what he might write in a more direct, focused autobiography.