Mark Heathcote’s poetry book, ‘Back on Earth’, consists of many creative layers that include a diverse, versatile, compelling assortment of poems! His poetry embodies an entrancing, tranquil spirit of peace, steadily upholding an eloquent and soothing tone to properly support his ingenious recipe of intellect and artistry.
Like many other gifted artists and writers, Heathcote’s interesting analogies, as in the poem, ‘Alienated Flowers’, provokes deep contemplation about something as simple as ‘weeds’, but as great as human life.
There a few reasons why we like this poem, with the main one being the interesting comparison drawn between human beings, and weeds (…flowers). Immediately, one thinks – what type of comparison can there possibly be?!
Well, the poem conveys the author’s perspective on why weeds interest him, considering their unsightly growth and presence. It’s a prime example of the beautiful, mental art produced by Heathcote when ability, intellect, and imagination collide, efficiently interconnecting realism, logic and fantasy, while inventively constructing his own plausible philosophy or theory on mankind.
In result, his thoughts, translated into fluent, organized verse are above and beyond the ‘average thoughts’ of a rigid and cultivated society or mind, and the prose-poetry style he uses to exert his intellectualism fits this book’s verbal delivery, perfectly! Leaving Heathcote’s words unrestricted, and underlying points, clear as crystal, as in the impassioned poem “Seventh Heaven”, and one of our favorites entitled, “Please, Please”.
Thorough and verbose, Heathcote’s poetry and prose are intricate and subjective, reflecting both artistic and intellectual sides of himself, involving all 5 human senses; sight, taste, touch, hearing, and smell, triggering a broad array of familiar scenes, feelings, things, and places. This makes for the ultimate reading sensory experience!
The author then takes readers into the cosmos with the stellar poem, 'I Fed the Stars', and we can't help but ask - what does this interesting allegory truly mean…or look like, for that matter? The poem’s abstract reality reads like a dream, awakened! And each verse dazzles the imagination, creatively explaining the intense spark of emotion radiating within and betwixt two souls, in love and interlinked.
In one selection, ‘An Unfulfilled Wish’, Mark uses a classic parable-like style to convey the trickeries of a beguiling, 'spiritually dereft' seven-headed serpent, who attempts to lure his next potential victim into its coil with the request of a 'compliant kiss'; but instead, is left only to bear the contempt of its own dejection and feeling of hopelessness. This piece is a classic, and its mythical quality gives off a supernatural appeal/effect that makes this legend resounding and persuasive!
In all, reading this fulfilling collection will certainly quench your poetry senses! The author is easily able to transition his poetry, from topic to topic, with each poem placing readers in a completely different place and environment, whereas we can absorb the projected emotions described. Mark reels and wins readers with catching titles, such as ‘Bleary-eyes Beauty’, ‘I Am the Sunset’, ‘Abstract Watercolour’, and ‘Alienated Flowers’.
Valuable questions arise from interesting, original philosophies, and lessons of truth about people, life, and the world are elegantly stitched into his poetic stories. We are pleased to present this book with a 5-star rating, and happy to recommend it to others!
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