Written by Koula Hadjitooulou, WATER YOUR FLOWERS WITH LOVE is a collection of inspirational poems about love and hope at a time of international crisis.
Many of the poems speak to the beauty of nature. Birds and flowers are a particular focus, as seen in this delightful couplet from the poem “Patience”: “The birds are singing the wonder of life. / The flowers are dancing for the day’s delight.” These are frequently poems of positive thinking, often joyous in their simplicity. A kitten seen by chance in the street, whose eyes radiate “a shining light of existence.” An invocation of a much-missed father: “The sunlight was gone / But the love was more. / My dad was not there / But his light was everywhere.” But there are darker moments, too; notably the title poem, where a “monster” throws “heavy boulders of violence,” and the poet’s voice urges care for the innocent (again with a botanical metaphor): “So, water your flowers with love / Talk to them / Nurture them / Tend to their flowerbed / Don’t extract their roots.”
Hadjitooulou’s poetry is simple, frequently relying on strict rhyme and meter, and this can sometimes seem a little clumsy and forced. This, again from the title poem, edges towards doggerel: “They were left alone… / To fight on their own / Maybe they ‘cared,’ / But they were too scared?” When Hadjitooulou does allow herself the freedom to break out of tight rhymes, there is a pleasing release—as seen in this opening stanza from the poem “What a Marvel is the Universe”: “The sky is the colour of azure / As the clouds veer through / They swirl and dance / And whisper to the Sun / How they formed their pack.”
The main issue with the book, though, is that there are just too many pieces. There are close to a hundred individual poems, which results in the effect of the poet’s more successful verses getting diluted by thematic repetition. Most of the works are clear and easy to grasp. There is little to unpack, so the strength in Hadjitooulou’s directness becomes a weakness as the collection goes on. It would have been far better to edit the collection down and concentrate on only the brightest shades from the poet’s somewhat limited palette.
WATER YOUR FLOWERS WITH LOVE is a compendium of simple, heart-warming poems through which Koula Hadjitooulou offers hope in a fractious world. With a keen eye for the beauty all around, the poet offers a refreshingly positive and inspiring outlook.
~ Kent Lane for IndieReader