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Un/Reconciled

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Touching steps through a life, a love, a dissolution, one bite-sized poem at a time.

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.

Reviewed by

I'm an author, poet, part time book reviewer, and PhD. None of which impresses my cat, and only some of which pays my bills. I tend towards urban or dark fantasy and poetry, but will read anything. If you enjoy my reviews, don't forget to like or leave a tip!

UN/Reconciled

About the author

I’m a retired madman from Kansas. Still no tattoos, or MFA, I continue to complicate my life by living out as many retirement clichés as possible. My work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and I am the author of two poetry chapbooks. I write till it hurts every day. view profile

Published on October 21, 2022

Published by Kelsay Books

3000 words

Genre: Poetry

Reviewed by