KIRKUS REVIEW
Vikman’s debut collection of 100 brief poems both celebrates and laments his life.
The seemingly irrepressible Vikman shares joys and confesses to dark nights of the soul in brief meditations about infinity, pain, transgressions, society, redemption, frustration and, above all, love. He’s also a songwriter, and it shows. As a whole, these poems suggest what would happen if the romantic ideals of a Renaissance troubadour were expressed by a country-western singer. “The Shade Grey” begins with a familiar pop lament—“Who is there for the broken hearted / who can fix a heart smashed into a thousand pieces”—and ends with a depressed, wry acceptance that he’s now “an empty shell / of what once was a colorful human being / now there is only grey, grey, grey.” The volume’s verse is simple, mostly unrhymed and unornamented, as in “Wake Up,” the opening poem that ends with “you have to go thru / the darkness / in order to enjoy the sunshine.” Self-help advice abounds—“in order to have a better past / I have to start making it at this moment / cause the future is right now”—and the pep talks are sound: “be yourself, believe in what you want to / and you will be loved as the person you truly are!” Despite the author’s sincere approach, the verse shows little craft; it’s mostly free of poetic devices other than repetition, while careless typos (“I” is sometimes “i” for no particular reason, and likewise “you” is sometimes “u”) detract from the artistry. In fact, a few phrases may strike readers as commonplace, even trite.
This earnest record of emotions may inspire readers to look deeper at their own feelings.