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thebookishelf's review against another edition
5.0
It is one of the mysteries of the human mind that nothing can be thought without eliciting a feeling, and nothing can be felt without eliciting a thought; and that moods and beliefs, so apparently separate, are really deeply intertwined. Without this deep bond between concept and affect, poetry would hardly be possible, seeing as it plays on the hidden cords that stretch between our sensory, cognitive, and emotional worlds, finding strange harmonies in disparate sources, revealing hitherto unimagined connections in our inner architecture. And since love—and its dark twin, loss—resides at the center of this poetry book, poet Kawtar Elmrabti has much to work with.
Thoughts Alight by Kawtar Elmrabti evokes romance and revolution in my consciousness, a riot of metaphors impregnated with sui generis imagery, an intense celebration of love and beauty, a flood of high emotions that assails my senses and then dulls them. Everything else blacks out and I’m transported to a world I have never seen before – and it's beautiful, it is magnificent, it is dancing with the joy of love, hope, self conception, and meditative thoughts!
There are very few poets who so brilliantly marries nature's metaphors of earth, sea, wind, trees, moon, stars with the enchanting anatomy of the beloved. Every line testifies to poet Kawtar Elmrabti's unique way of perceiving nature; she likens the beloved to nature, her beloved becomes nature. As you might expect of youthful love poetry, this book is full of ardor, of lust, of desperation, and of the deepest tenderness. The sky is pulled apart, the sea is drained, the stars are rearranged, the forests are uprooted, and the world itself is bent into new shapes in poet's attempt to express her heart.
I took my time reading this, choosing to savor the succulent, vivid, tactile words. I must say, these poems are luscious! I feel their imagery as much as visualize it.
It is hard to make selections from this book; every poem is a work of wonder. Instead of copying many full-length poems, I am sampling some lines to show the luxuriant quality of imagery and the thunderous motion of her poems, the finesse of her thought, and the intensity of her style. Below is one of my favourite poems from the collection Thoughts Alight by Kawtar Elmrabti:
Thoughts Alight by Kawtar Elmrabti evokes romance and revolution in my consciousness, a riot of metaphors impregnated with sui generis imagery, an intense celebration of love and beauty, a flood of high emotions that assails my senses and then dulls them. Everything else blacks out and I’m transported to a world I have never seen before – and it's beautiful, it is magnificent, it is dancing with the joy of love, hope, self conception, and meditative thoughts!
There are very few poets who so brilliantly marries nature's metaphors of earth, sea, wind, trees, moon, stars with the enchanting anatomy of the beloved. Every line testifies to poet Kawtar Elmrabti's unique way of perceiving nature; she likens the beloved to nature, her beloved becomes nature. As you might expect of youthful love poetry, this book is full of ardor, of lust, of desperation, and of the deepest tenderness. The sky is pulled apart, the sea is drained, the stars are rearranged, the forests are uprooted, and the world itself is bent into new shapes in poet's attempt to express her heart.
I took my time reading this, choosing to savor the succulent, vivid, tactile words. I must say, these poems are luscious! I feel their imagery as much as visualize it.
It is hard to make selections from this book; every poem is a work of wonder. Instead of copying many full-length poems, I am sampling some lines to show the luxuriant quality of imagery and the thunderous motion of her poems, the finesse of her thought, and the intensity of her style. Below is one of my favourite poems from the collection Thoughts Alight by Kawtar Elmrabti:
An Afterglow
Loving whispers
Bodies intertwined like tangled wires
I find the place to lay my head
As our freckles align like constellations
Pressed against your skin
Entangled limbs
As to where you and I begin
You woke my sleeping senses
And warmed me to the bone
Together we move as one
In the splendid moment
I see moonlight dancing in your eyes
Together in the afterglow
Locked in love’s sweet embrace
You’re the starlight
In between my midnight eyes
Our Love’s ballet
Crowned with splendor
Afterglow lover’s blush
Passionate blood rush
I lose myself in your beam
Our fingers lock like magnets
Blending into one
I’m yours and you’re mine
Your skin, the canvas
My fingertips, the paintbrush
Every touch, every glide upon it
Create a mark unlike any other
Writing our tale
Lulling you into dreams with my fingers
Waking you when sunlight creeps up the sheets
Our hearts and breaths in sync
Laying in the afterglow
Longing to paint our lives
In splendid memories
Days filled with bliss and passion
Sun shining on our tangled silhouettes
Our Love’s ballet, an endless glow
pep_pooja's review against another edition
4.0
Thet sat, 'Love is written in the stars
Ours is threaded between the stars."
Thoughts Alight Poetry is written by Elmrabti Kawat. This book is a collection of many beautiful poems on different things and emotions.
.
The poems are just serene and beautiful. The whole book is divided into four parts, based on the types of poems. All the comparisons and connections made in the poems are really beautiful. Most of the poems describe the beauty of nature and it's the entity. Through the poems, the poet teaches us to believe in ourself and to cherish ourself.
.
"The power of ink and a mind can trace endless magic waves."
Towards the end of the book, there was a beautifully written poem on the importance of books. Among all the poems, the poem I liked the most is 'Sands and Pearls'. The poems are quite well written. The words used in the poems are not so easy. Many people may face problems to understand the poems.
Ours is threaded between the stars."
Thoughts Alight Poetry is written by Elmrabti Kawat. This book is a collection of many beautiful poems on different things and emotions.
.
The poems are just serene and beautiful. The whole book is divided into four parts, based on the types of poems. All the comparisons and connections made in the poems are really beautiful. Most of the poems describe the beauty of nature and it's the entity. Through the poems, the poet teaches us to believe in ourself and to cherish ourself.
.
"The power of ink and a mind can trace endless magic waves."
Towards the end of the book, there was a beautifully written poem on the importance of books. Among all the poems, the poem I liked the most is 'Sands and Pearls'. The poems are quite well written. The words used in the poems are not so easy. Many people may face problems to understand the poems.
womanon's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars
This little book of poems put a huge smile on my face. It motivated me, made me reminsce to my youth, and most of all: made me fall in love a little more with myself. It was wonderful, and I can only recommend you pick up this book.
This little book of poems put a huge smile on my face. It motivated me, made me reminsce to my youth, and most of all: made me fall in love a little more with myself. It was wonderful, and I can only recommend you pick up this book.
tintin_loves_books's review against another edition
4.0
Speaks to the soul, carries the heart with it. 'Thoughts Alight Poetry' by Kawtar Elmrabti is an in-depth collection of poetry about love, hope, self and meditation. Each is so interconnected to the other.
Through this poetry, he speaks intricately about the depth of love and the identity of self. While love dominates the overall idea, the intensity of poetry makes it an amazing read. I loved the flow of the poems and the way they captured my heart with each line. These poems are quite serious and need a moment to wrap around the head.
The emotions portrayed were amazing but I would have loved if punctuations were used more freely. While that is a very unique concept to have in his writing, it still made me feel like something is amiss.
Overall, this can be read by newbies or seasoned readers alike. I thoroughly enjoyed the profound thoughts.
For more such detailed reviews, check out my bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mystic_tales_tintin/
Through this poetry, he speaks intricately about the depth of love and the identity of self. While love dominates the overall idea, the intensity of poetry makes it an amazing read. I loved the flow of the poems and the way they captured my heart with each line. These poems are quite serious and need a moment to wrap around the head.
The emotions portrayed were amazing but I would have loved if punctuations were used more freely. While that is a very unique concept to have in his writing, it still made me feel like something is amiss.
Overall, this can be read by newbies or seasoned readers alike. I thoroughly enjoyed the profound thoughts.
For more such detailed reviews, check out my bookstagram: https://www.instagram.com/mystic_tales_tintin/
bookmanomkar's review against another edition
4.0
Thoughts Alight Poetry: A Doorway to a Secret Garden by Elmrabti Kawtar is a collection of poems full of thoughts alighted with hope, love, sadness, inspiration, meditation and ambition. This collection is divided into four parts namely Love thoughts, hope thoughts, self-thoughts and meditation thoughts.
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The book is short and can be read in single seating but it is advisable to read it slowly by absorbing each and every word. The use of metaphoric language was so beautifully done and it stimulates the reader to paint the picture in his imagination with the poet has adorned with her words.
•
Though the book is divided into 4 sections, a major chunk is occupied by the first section: love thoughts and I felt a certain repetition in this section. The section of Hope Thoughts was empowering and based on values like kindness and perseverance it is my favourite from the book.
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I like the way in which the poet has ended the book with a poem dedicated to readers of the book. Overall it was a pleasant read with a mesmerizing writing style. I would recommend this book to people who are new to poetry genre.
•
The book is short and can be read in single seating but it is advisable to read it slowly by absorbing each and every word. The use of metaphoric language was so beautifully done and it stimulates the reader to paint the picture in his imagination with the poet has adorned with her words.
•
Though the book is divided into 4 sections, a major chunk is occupied by the first section: love thoughts and I felt a certain repetition in this section. The section of Hope Thoughts was empowering and based on values like kindness and perseverance it is my favourite from the book.
•
I like the way in which the poet has ended the book with a poem dedicated to readers of the book. Overall it was a pleasant read with a mesmerizing writing style. I would recommend this book to people who are new to poetry genre.
thesunbooks's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
Thanks to the author for kindly offering me a free e-book copy of this poetry book, in exchange for an honest review. So, here is my review.
This is a nice poetry book, divided in 4 parts: Love, Hope, Self and Meditation. (I actually loved this idea of dividing the book)
"Love is an essence flowing into our souls through many forms." - such a beautiful way to describe it.
There were a lot of poems which I highly enjoyed, but there were also some that I didn't really feel (maybe because I didn't actually find myself in them). As a whole, this is a nice book and it's a really easy read, you can always come back to it when you feel like you want to read something quick and beautiful.
Thanks to the author for kindly offering me a free e-book copy of this poetry book, in exchange for an honest review. So, here is my review.
This is a nice poetry book, divided in 4 parts: Love, Hope, Self and Meditation. (I actually loved this idea of dividing the book)
"Love is an essence flowing into our souls through many forms." - such a beautiful way to describe it.
There were a lot of poems which I highly enjoyed, but there were also some that I didn't really feel (maybe because I didn't actually find myself in them). As a whole, this is a nice book and it's a really easy read, you can always come back to it when you feel like you want to read something quick and beautiful.
singh_reads_kanwar2's review against another edition
4.0
Love thoughts Start with the love for themselves, then author written some beautiful love poem and use the hyperbole, metaphor, similes and exaggerated some views of nature to love and metaphor of nature, galaxy sky, ocean, moons and star , the relationship promises and use of elements of nature air water fire used to depict love in various form, the rhyming scheme the author use is unusual as he start with (abab abac) later he went to climax he start using random line without rhyme. The writing is fresh and tinge of flavour of his own.
Hope thoughts is rejuvenation of life from the dark past, moving from darkness to light. Be kind to people around, be healer and smile always, broken lover the most ,never apologize for who you are and what you do, keep your intentions always clear, and in the end we must for best to come.
Self thought is about Self respect, self love, cultivate the thoughts of positivity, not let other rule your mind. Compete with yourself to make yourself better everyday, guiding yourself through tough time.self believe in your plans. Creative thoughts and rise after every fall.
Mediation thoughts is about wisdom one used that is earned from centuries from the experience of others, breath like anything, human souls that are like books, read them slowly and patiently,
Change in narrative,what you are not let other decide for you, be calm and content. Be the better you everyday.
Hope thoughts is rejuvenation of life from the dark past, moving from darkness to light. Be kind to people around, be healer and smile always, broken lover the most ,never apologize for who you are and what you do, keep your intentions always clear, and in the end we must for best to come.
Self thought is about Self respect, self love, cultivate the thoughts of positivity, not let other rule your mind. Compete with yourself to make yourself better everyday, guiding yourself through tough time.self believe in your plans. Creative thoughts and rise after every fall.
Mediation thoughts is about wisdom one used that is earned from centuries from the experience of others, breath like anything, human souls that are like books, read them slowly and patiently,
Change in narrative,what you are not let other decide for you, be calm and content. Be the better you everyday.
lindorie's review against another edition
4.0
"The flow of my ink
alight with my deepest affection
in this moment
i wish i could shield you
From life’s harshness
may my words unfold happiness
For your kindest soul
i long for your luminous smile"
I feel that with my closest friends. (that's not weird, ok?) It rang in me like an evidence and I couldn't have found better words to express that feeling. Kawat, You have this incredible power to use words that fit. I was able relate to many of your thoughts and they are also really inspiring and full of positivity and hope. I needed a light reading today and your book gave me exactly what I was desperately looking for. Instead of just being a naive spread of light, "Thoughts Alight" also accepts the darkness and the bad moments in life and give them a place as a step in life to evolve and grow. I liked the numerous methaphors of nature and life, the play on lights. It's a good reading for bad days without any doubt as it warms you and fill your mind with positive thoughts and images. Also, it's very inspiring and it put me in a good mood. What a good way to re-emerge in real life with a bit of motivation and hope! it's fortifying, just like a huge glass of water after a long run. If you need light in its purest form, I recommend "Thoughts Alight", it's a gem reminding you there's always a way back to light.
The only thing I coudln't help myself but notice is that the "love thoughts" part was longer than the others and that it was a bit repetitive but a wise woman once told me to never apologise for spreading kindness and by extension I think, positivity. So I'd say it's not really bothering ! :)
Thank you Kawtar for your precious and wonderful work.
alight with my deepest affection
in this moment
i wish i could shield you
From life’s harshness
may my words unfold happiness
For your kindest soul
i long for your luminous smile"
I feel that with my closest friends. (that's not weird, ok?) It rang in me like an evidence and I couldn't have found better words to express that feeling. Kawat, You have this incredible power to use words that fit. I was able relate to many of your thoughts and they are also really inspiring and full of positivity and hope. I needed a light reading today and your book gave me exactly what I was desperately looking for. Instead of just being a naive spread of light, "Thoughts Alight" also accepts the darkness and the bad moments in life and give them a place as a step in life to evolve and grow. I liked the numerous methaphors of nature and life, the play on lights. It's a good reading for bad days without any doubt as it warms you and fill your mind with positive thoughts and images. Also, it's very inspiring and it put me in a good mood. What a good way to re-emerge in real life with a bit of motivation and hope! it's fortifying, just like a huge glass of water after a long run. If you need light in its purest form, I recommend "Thoughts Alight", it's a gem reminding you there's always a way back to light.
The only thing I coudln't help myself but notice is that the "love thoughts" part was longer than the others and that it was a bit repetitive but a wise woman once told me to never apologise for spreading kindness and by extension I think, positivity. So I'd say it's not really bothering ! :)
Thank you Kawtar for your precious and wonderful work.
deepan2486's review against another edition
3.0
Special thanks to Angana, for helping me out on this. Her insights and views laid the foundation for this review.
Sometimes love seems like a sun-kissed, bright and heavenly blissful feeling, but is it just that?
In the Love Thoughts section, ‘Thoughts Alight Poetry” preaches to convey this warm, fuzzy, and infinitely optimistic aspect of love. Through charming and endearing verses, the poet paints a fairy-tale picture of love in all its bounty. In the duration of reading the initial few poems, this un-tainted overly simplistic portrayal of love comes out to be very soothing and mellow, but as Angana pointed out, the extensive use of overly positive imageries and nature metaphors set the mood for unconditional romance, only to feel stretched after a while. The complex array of the metaphorical ideas was often too fragmented and instead of reinforcing the poet’s conveyance, they clouded its meaning. These jumbled-up, overly-romanticized poems thereby only give a too-good-to-be-true notions of beauty and love, and doesn’t successfully delve deeper. According to Angana, there isn’t much of a recollection of the mental attributes of the lovers, or the domesticities and nuances of their personality. The book primarily harps on the unconditional attachment of souls, and expresses love as a pulsating all-mighty singularity. I certainly agree with this. The poems get conveyed to me as being the glittery, sky-high banner that adorns the doorway to the mysterious and puzzling emotion called love, and it doesn’t even try to throw light upon the unexplored, fleeting subtleties of it. Although the poems might be appealing as a simple, sweet, and linear account of beauty and infatuation…to me, the poems never try to touch upon actual ‘love’ in its entirety.
The ‘Hope thoughts’ section, in a similar notion, is nothing too fancy or breath-taking. The poems keep on harping on the gaudiness and flowery effects of Hope and optimism but fail to give an unconventional viewpoint that might extract optimism from the darkest of times. At this point, the book becomes overly preachy and advisory. Some of the intense metaphors that speak of Hope and pessimism is really very encouraging, but it continues to avoid the philosophical and analytical elucidation of Hope, and so the verses never really feel touching or uplifting. Angana says, that the words feel like an old friend, comforting and warm, filled with innocence and positivity.
The ‘Self Thoughts’ and ‘Meditation thoughts’ were also a bit jumbled and illusory. Angana feels that while the poems should not be treated as an aid for serious self-help, it could definitely be read for a light read and would instill flutters of self-glory in the readers. The motivating ideas of inner peace and the magnanimity of the soul gives a warm touch to the verses, but the concrete theme of the poems seemed to be utterly hard to fathom.
I would heartily give my recommendation of this book to the ones who love to float about in the lukewarm, mellow expanse of love…and aren’t really willing to go deeper into the grey ambiguities and dualities of it.
Disclaimer: This review is in lieu of a review copy
Originally published on my blog: https://deepansbookshelf.blogspot.com/2020/06/is-love-just-rainbows-and-roses.html?showComment=1591024312131&m=1#c710209999529550132
Sometimes love seems like a sun-kissed, bright and heavenly blissful feeling, but is it just that?
In the Love Thoughts section, ‘Thoughts Alight Poetry” preaches to convey this warm, fuzzy, and infinitely optimistic aspect of love. Through charming and endearing verses, the poet paints a fairy-tale picture of love in all its bounty. In the duration of reading the initial few poems, this un-tainted overly simplistic portrayal of love comes out to be very soothing and mellow, but as Angana pointed out, the extensive use of overly positive imageries and nature metaphors set the mood for unconditional romance, only to feel stretched after a while. The complex array of the metaphorical ideas was often too fragmented and instead of reinforcing the poet’s conveyance, they clouded its meaning. These jumbled-up, overly-romanticized poems thereby only give a too-good-to-be-true notions of beauty and love, and doesn’t successfully delve deeper. According to Angana, there isn’t much of a recollection of the mental attributes of the lovers, or the domesticities and nuances of their personality. The book primarily harps on the unconditional attachment of souls, and expresses love as a pulsating all-mighty singularity. I certainly agree with this. The poems get conveyed to me as being the glittery, sky-high banner that adorns the doorway to the mysterious and puzzling emotion called love, and it doesn’t even try to throw light upon the unexplored, fleeting subtleties of it. Although the poems might be appealing as a simple, sweet, and linear account of beauty and infatuation…to me, the poems never try to touch upon actual ‘love’ in its entirety.
The ‘Hope thoughts’ section, in a similar notion, is nothing too fancy or breath-taking. The poems keep on harping on the gaudiness and flowery effects of Hope and optimism but fail to give an unconventional viewpoint that might extract optimism from the darkest of times. At this point, the book becomes overly preachy and advisory. Some of the intense metaphors that speak of Hope and pessimism is really very encouraging, but it continues to avoid the philosophical and analytical elucidation of Hope, and so the verses never really feel touching or uplifting. Angana says, that the words feel like an old friend, comforting and warm, filled with innocence and positivity.
The ‘Self Thoughts’ and ‘Meditation thoughts’ were also a bit jumbled and illusory. Angana feels that while the poems should not be treated as an aid for serious self-help, it could definitely be read for a light read and would instill flutters of self-glory in the readers. The motivating ideas of inner peace and the magnanimity of the soul gives a warm touch to the verses, but the concrete theme of the poems seemed to be utterly hard to fathom.
I would heartily give my recommendation of this book to the ones who love to float about in the lukewarm, mellow expanse of love…and aren’t really willing to go deeper into the grey ambiguities and dualities of it.
Disclaimer: This review is in lieu of a review copy
Originally published on my blog: https://deepansbookshelf.blogspot.com/2020/06/is-love-just-rainbows-and-roses.html?showComment=1591024312131&m=1#c710209999529550132
fabilous_books's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
honestly, I'm not a fan of poetry. Never was, don't think I will be anytime soon. Hence, when the author reached out to me for an honest review, I was hesitant.
I'm a huge fiction reader. I find poetry boring and lacks interest.
This book was alright in my opinion. With my lack of poetry experience, I think it was better than I thought. I did indeed felt bored since it had no plot(?).
Regardless, it was a great short read and was better than I thought.
I think people who enjoy poetry would much enjoy it than I did lol.
honestly, I'm not a fan of poetry. Never was, don't think I will be anytime soon. Hence, when the author reached out to me for an honest review, I was hesitant.
I'm a huge fiction reader. I find poetry boring and lacks interest.
This book was alright in my opinion. With my lack of poetry experience, I think it was better than I thought. I did indeed felt bored since it had no plot(?).
Regardless, it was a great short read and was better than I thought.
I think people who enjoy poetry would much enjoy it than I did lol.