William Wordsworth once defined, “Poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquility.” Undoubtedly, poetry is one genre in literary writing where the emotion comes in the purest form. The intent of poetry is only to take a reader to the next level and see things from a different perspective, in addition to enjoying the rhythmic quality. Margesh Rai’s collection of poetry, “Poetry: A Garland of Words,” only exemplifies Wordsworth’s statement with more justice and closeness. The readers will find the artistic usage of words by Rai and the creation of a garland to adore the modern version of romantic poetry to a certain extent.

The slogan giving by the English romantic writers was “Back To Nature,” and to some extent, Rai’s work seems to follow the same lines where he shares his love for nature and natural surroundings. In his garland of words, the author does different experiments in poetic forms and tries to raise the interest levels of the readers by such experiments. He mentions in the introduction to the book, “The collection of poems in my book Poetry-a garland of words embraces the beauty of nature and draws motivation from its greatness.”

With poems totaling 143 in “Poetry: A Garland of Words,” the readers get to see and hear the different moods in which the author would have written and the varying states of mind he must have had when writing them. He talks on a variety of themes and subjects that remain relevant not just to nature lovers but also to people who are rooted in urban city culture. This shows the observation of Rai. Although being deeply connected to nature, he also observes human civilization closely and shares his thoughts with the readers in his garland of words. This is the feature that differentiates him from the romantics, and this is what makes him unique in his league.

In “Poetry: A Garland of Words,” some poems are remarkably short. For example, “Be My Cloud.” Even though the poem is only of two lines, but the depth of thought that the author had is loaded, and the readers get involved in deciphering the meaning. At the same time, he also writes poems on themes like nature, people, urban city life, from a social standpoint, science, human relationships, and so many others. The poems featuring these themes are “Space Travel,” “Love-An Ephermal Affair,” “Digital Chai,” “Flowers and Butterflies,” “Unrequited Feelings,” “Rainbow Glimpse,” “Cosmic Travel,” “Together Forever,” “Velvety Flowers,” “Oh, Poor Soul,” “Dancing Girl,” “SIRIUS-The Dog Star,” “Chubby Cheeks” and many many more. Every poem is a totality in itself. The readers may want to re-read the poems and interpret the multiple meanings that every poem is open to. All poems have something or the other to offer the readers, and all people who read would be able to connect with the poems on some level or the other. Readers of all ages and all those who have interest in reading poetry may find this work of their interest. This ensures that all kinds of readers can develop an interest in reading, and if the readers read one poem, they are likely to go on reading further.

“Poetry: A Garland of Words” is not a collection of poems that can be just read and forgotten. The beauty of its simplicity lies in the fact that the readers would want to come back and keep reading the poems, again and again, to not only refresh themselves but also have the soothing effect on their minds which nature has on a person. They can go back to the poems at times when they travel or when they are sitting in a park. They would have the same reading experience every time. He states in the introduction, “Through my poems, I have made an effort to vividly describing the beauty of nature and, at the same time, draw some inspiration for life.” This is the factor that makes Rai’s work powerful and brings the readers closer to the collection and develops an understanding of the thought-process of the poet.

 Title: Poetry – A Garland of Words
Author: Margesh Rai (Margdarshan)
Reviewed By: Akhila Saroha At The Literature Today
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