Reviews
Unexpected Alchemy
The journey of addiction and recovery can make a complete story without compromising poetic aesthetics. It’s evident in Unexpected Alchemy, Skye Nicholson’s latest collection of independently published poems.
Nicholson calls them “poems of addiction and awakening” – the awakening phase following the earlier phase of alcohol addiction, starting the book in the section Calcination and Dissolution – the first phase in the process of alchemy. Just like alchemy goes through phases to achieve a new and purified element, Unexpected Alchemy goes through the phases of journey leading to a new self, healed and awakened.
Nicholson’s poems showing the human vulnerability and resilience with a final message of hope and faith in the process of transformation (or metaphorical rebirth) are rich in metaphors of journey and change. Nature in its purity is used a scale for measuring one’s own journey toward that ideal state, leaving behind the abused self that is past its expiry date. In “January Woods” (p. 41), the poet acknowledges human arrogance against nature’s greatness.
Yes, perhaps I should
take a knee at the feet of these stately sycamores,
bow my head and beg for mercy.
One notable merit of Unexpected Alchemy is that the poems stay fairly clear of clichés so that the reader can feel the freshness in originality that translates into a believable narrative. Imagism adds to it and throughout the book, Nicholson paints scenes from her life and surroundings, using lines instead of color.
By both its content and voice, Unexpected Alchemy is an empowering work of poetry. It’s highly personal yet widely relatable. Although very much a woman’s voice, Nicholson’s verse goes across lines of gender and other social constructs in a world where most, if not all, slip, fall, and get broken at one point or other. The magic of alchemy comes into play to heal us when we call on it. Skye Nicholson’s poems echo the inner sound of that calling.
ISBN: 9798759813064
Availability: https://www.amazon.com/Unexpected-Alchemy-Poems-Addiction-Awakening/dp/B09NS4SX8R