As with all the chaps to be born at Blackheath Books, Geraint Hughes hand-crafted collection “this is it….,” has a warmth both inside and out. This 20 poem collection speaks to personal journeys in times of change that can really only be traversed alone. It recounts touching moments prior to and after the death of Geraint’s father.
The work ranges from introspective questioning in poems like “poem on the night I heard my father will die” and “the journey” to the subconscious tensions that surround a person in grief in poems like “hammering the nails in” and “I know what men are like”. Interspersed in between are hints of joy and shadows of anger. He finds comfort in the paper and pen at a time when nothing one can say will ease the projected burden of death.
Geraint is at his best in “as Thoreau said” and in the very touching poem “the old wardrobe”:
“I thanked you for everything
Not just for what you’d done
Mostly what you hadn’t
Just for being there
I kept checking, as you cooled
And when they came for you
Mum asked for your wedding ring
And I got it for her”
Geraint Hughes’ collection “this is it….” Speaks to the rollercoaster ride that is loss, how in it there are moments of quiet contemplation, sadness, joy, anger, and hope, even if it feels backhanded. This is a fine chap to place on your nightstand to just remind you of what you have and to be thankful.
