Title: Frayed Edges: Poems

Author: Kahlani B. Steele

Genre: Poetry

 

Frayed Edges is an immaculately presented collection of 122 poems, five of which are collaborations with fellow poet, Krystoff Juddbryll.

The poems predominantly reflect upon loss and its accompanying grief, whether through death or the breakdown of a relationship. However, as the title suggests, Steele’s poetry celebrates the quiet strength of the human spirit in the face of emotional adversity and its capacity for resilience.

Frayed Edges could be viewed as a little daunting, as it’s an extensive collection, but Steele’s poems are succinct, and some are only a few lines. There is a deeply personal voice to her work, but she has considered her audience. Her poetry is effortlessly readable and accessible, and casts a broad, objective net.

Her titles are intriguing yet straightforward, many of them containing nuanced meanings, as do the poems themselves. Steele uses meteorological forces, geographical features, and the rhythms of nature, especially diurnal or seasonal phases, to illustrate, enhance, or provide metaphorical reference to the complexity of her emotions.

There are some breathtakingly poignant riffs on the intensity of love in all its painful guises, such as the beautifully ambiguous “All Our Tomorrows” and the bittersweet “From Afar.”

Additionally, several are charged with sexual energy and latent eroticism. “Capricious Wind” and “Candle in the Dark” are awash in sensuous imagery, and those written with Juddbryll, especially the deliciously explicit alliterative “Decadence,” even more so.

Technically, Steele’s poems are polished and accomplished. Overall, she does not employ traditional rhyming schemes, preferring the versatility of free verse, which she deftly structures with clever eye/half-rhymes, intricate wordplay, and fluid lyricism, ensuring easy readability while shedding layers of allusion.

Nevertheless, a few play subversively with established forms, “Trunk in the Attic,” “Tug of Wool,” and, to a lesser extent, “I Am That Star,” flirting with the repetitive integrity of a villanelle or pantoum poetic structure.

Further, she is sparing in her use of punctuation, leaving the reader to scan her lines as they wish, lending subjective freedom to interpretation and cadence.

Notwithstanding the fundamental profundity and tender poignancy of her work, there are poems shot through with self-aware amusement and wry observation. “The Fool and His Guitar” is one such example, and the intentionally prosaic “The Sound of Boredom” serves as a sharp rejoinder to low-corporate drudgery.

There are also a number in which Steele recalls time spent with her grandparents. At first glance, these have a homely feel. “A Visit to Nan’s” is brushed with folkloric elements, but there is something darker beneath the flowery surface.

Indeed, flowers and birds feature prominently in the collection, as figurative illusions of emerging from grief into acceptance, with petals and wings symbolizing emotional rebirth and flight. These poems can also be read literally, the transience of human life and emotion, set against the perpetual life cycles of the natural world.

However, some are blunt with bereavement, such as the lachrymose “The Taste of Grief,” the powerful prose poem, “A Lesson in Grief,” and the hauntingly beautiful lament, “I Feel You When…” which, although one of the shortest poems, is undoubtedly one of the strongest. Another contender is “A Winter’s Eve,” a haunting tour de force that reveals different significance with each reading.

The collection is thoughtfully arranged, but a sharper, thematic grouping would enable a more focused, emotive read. The juxtaposition of some of the poems occasionally disrupts their flow and lessens their emotional weight and message.

Nonetheless, Frayed Edges is a captivating collection that sparkles with wistful insight and emotive impact. Steele’s poems are beautifully crafted, utterly beguiling, and highly relatable.

 

 

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