Presented in sequence as the inception, duration, complication, and finally dissolution of a flawed relationship, Pasquale Trozzolo's second collection UN/Reconciled: Poems of a Love Gone Off reads like heartbreak in slow motion. Years pass in these brief tastes of poetry and memories, an anniversary picnic at the beach, a lover on the road, a therapy session that cannot heal cracks that are built into the foundation of this couple's essence, and yet even in savoring the collection it still runs by all too quickly.

Each of the almost 30 poems included in this collection is prefaced by a line or two of prose from the poet as a snippet of contextualization for the lines to come. Usually, as both a poet and a reader, I find this kind of explanation irritating, because to my mind poetry should stand on its own merit without a justification or commentary from the poet. That said, there are exceptions to every rule, and Trozzolo's brief, prose introductions are both lyrical, and seamless enough with each other, their individual poems, and the tone of the collection as a whole, that they do not distract or detract from the poems themselves.

Though this is only his second collection, Trozzolo's work reads like that of a seasoned poet, perhaps because the man is seasoned in life, if not in writing. His biography offers a brief glimpse into what sounds like a life well lived (a racecar driver and a professor? Color me intrigued!), and which, one would hope, will provide plenty of inspiration and reflection for years of poetry yet to come.

As for this collection? Pay particular attention to the titular "UN/Reconciled", the daring heartbeat of a micro-poem in "Forward" and the melancholy sip of "Happy Hour" for some of the brightest stars in this constellation.