Echoes Lost in Stars: Poems

Echoes Lost in Stars by PS Conway is an exceptional collection of poetry that beautifully illustrates how the author’s mind works, featuring streams of emotions, bursts of insights, and experiences that underline the speaker’s humanity. Elegant, profound, and utterly captivating, these poems of varying lengths and styles examine different themes — the love for nature, loneliness, and solitude, love and loss, humanity and the beauty of human encounters, and much more. Conway’s diction is deceptively simple, but the thoughts are profound, and a musical atmosphere renders each poem gorgeous and delectable. The poet delivers personal and intimate experiences, yet universe and resonant.  

Conway is a wordsmith who uses language to weave metaphors, imagery, and symbolism to create a rich reading experience. In turn, descriptive and insightful, the poet captures images from nature while provoking reflection in readers. For example, in ''Earthen Trails,'' the poet describes a serene mountain dawn, using sensory details like ''scent of pine shadows seep'' and ''worries of life long gone'' to evoke a sense of tranquility. The combination of physical elements and the feeling of worry that dissipates invites readers to move from the physical to the inner world. The exploration of love is a recurring theme in this collection, and in “State of Grace,” Conway describes a romantic encounter with his partner, using vivid imagery to paint a picture of their love: ''You were my Aglaea / shining fair in the fulgent sun.'' However, the book also explores themes of loss and longing. In ''Fruitless,'' Conway captures the pain of a failed love affair, and the metaphor brilliantly conveys the sense of loneliness and desolation (“withered olive tree provides no shade'' and ''looming mountains frame the sea'') to convey a sense of desolation. The poem ends with ''I beg the Oracle for a sign of calming tides / that our love's kingdom will quell our rebellions,'' highlighting the poet's longing for peace and resolution.

One of the book's most striking aspects is its use of mythology and symbolism. Conway draws on Irish mythology and biblical references to create symbolism. In ''more words penned by men often pretend / to understand the mind of God,'' Conway uses an eagle riding a stag to represent the fragility of human understanding. Then there are those lines that invite readers to ponder on their existential reality and thoughts that nurture the soul in poems like “And Let's Be Honest,” where he asks: “Can we truly appreciate the light without first understanding darkness?'' Each poem in Echoes Lost in Stars is unique and demands to be read as a standalone. The overall collection is rich in imagery, form, symbolism, and music that makes poetry irresistible to fans of the genre.