Delightful and engrossing…
Chock-full of sardonic observations and hilarious interpretations of life’s small, cherished moments, Keegan’s latest enthralling collection takes readers on an exhilarating journey through amusement parks. “growing up, / the line itself was a nuisance, / a fevering itch, / like being told no / to any pleading request / at the mall toy shoppe.” writes Keegan in “Wait Time Unknown,” a poem concerned with inconspicuous childhood years when it seemed easy to get caught up in the exhilaration of life. In “New Jersey,” Keegan recalls the carefree years of adolescent when wilderness of the youth makes the world look like a never-never land. Awfully hilarious “The Franchise has Run Aground,” “Games Games Games” and “Pay Attention” demonstrate Keegan’s sharp wit and sly humor. Some of the poems are constructed in brief, sparse lines, but leave their mark nonetheless (“Elevate Your Park Rating” and “Ingen ious”). Readers will be won over by “Back of the Line, Bub!” the longest poem in the collection, in which Keegan looks into his childhood, remembering many cherished moments. Keegan’s poetry paints vivid portraits of the roller coaster rides, the carousal, the music blaring over loudspeakers, and the warmth of the night lights in amusement parks, catching the visceral descriptions of the food at the same time: the reader can almost smell the root beer, hot dogs, and the cotton candy in his poems. Nothing magnificent happens in these poems, but It’s preciousness of life’s tiny, memorable moments that makes this collection captivating and extremely readable. A keeper!
Lines at the Amusement Rides
By Eric Keegan
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Potter’s Grove Press LLC
Pub date March 17, 2020
ASIN: B085DP7FFT
Price $0.97 (USD) Kindle edition, $6.99 Paperback