Poetry

2024 Reading Challenge Roundup

| C.E. Flores

So, how did I do? Well, let’s take a look, shall we?

So carrying over to 2025, I have a book on my shelf and a hardcover book. Not too shabby, I think. How did your reading go this year?

Want to take a look at my previous reading challenge roundups?

2020

2021

2022

The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran

| C.E. Flores

Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet is a literary masterpiece transcending time and culture, offering profound insights into the human experience. First published in 1923, this collection of poetic essays remains an enduring classic, celebrated for its universal wisdom and lyrical beauty.

The story revolves around Almustafa, a prophet preparing to leave the fictional city of Orphalese after twelve years. Before his departure, the townspeople gather to seek his guidance on life’s most essential themes—love, marriage, children, work, freedom, pain, and death, among others. Each essay is an absolute jewel, blending poetic language with spiritual depth.

Gibran’s writing style is hypnotic and rhythmic, resembling scripture or sacred text. His use of metaphor and imagery is vivid, painting a tapestry of life that is both personal and universal. For instance, in the essay on love, Gibran describes it as a force that “gives nothing but itself and takes nothing but from itself,” urging readers to embrace its joys and pains as transformative. Similarly, his views on work as “love made visible” challenge conventional notions, elevating daily toil into an act of devotion.

What makes The Prophet timeless is its accessibility. Despite its spiritual undertones, it is not tied to any religion or ideology, making its teachings resonate across cultural and personal boundaries. It offers comfort and guidance to those seeking meaning and purpose, particularly during moments of transition or uncertainty. The Prophet is a luminous exploration of life’s deepest truths. It is a book to savor, revisit, and cherish—a companion for the soul.

Rose: Future Heart by Jazalyn

| C.E. Flores

The other day I decided that I’d gotten into a rut with my reading. It was time for a little something different. So when Jazalyn offered me a copy of Rose: Future Heart to review, I jumped at the chance for a little poetry.

It was a quick read. Most of the poems were between 10 and 15 lines. The themes were universal: love, betrayal, self-acceptance, personal growth, and some allusions to bullying. They were mostly general. No details were given about the situations that inspired the poems. The point of view either was from a “She” perspective or a first-person “I” perspective and written in free-verse with occasional rhyme and meter.

For a little light reading, this book was fine. However, if the reader wants a little more substance, then they probably won’t find it between these covers. The vagueness of the incidents described and the focus on the poet’s emotional state kept the words from sticking. On the other hand, the book is ideal for teenagers and young adults just coming to terms with being themselves. The poem Im-Possible Dream is a good example. In it, the poet talks about how they have yet to achieve anything just yet but has the confidence that soon that will change, much like any young adult at the precipice of becoming.

So if you are looking for something along the lines of literary Tik-Tok, then Rose: Future Heart is for you.