vViIrRuUsS: I Never Forget
by Jazalyn
Publication Date: December 18, 2020
★★☆☆☆
vViIrRuUsS: I Never Forget is a collection of short poems that is, at its roots, a survey of human psychology. Three viruses have come to Earth: One to destroy reality as we know it, one to erase memories and repair the future, and one to save humanity itself.
I wasn’t sure what I was walking into when I received this review request - poetry is not my usual method of reading and it's also not something I reach for normally. I'm not one to say no to a new experiences, so I accepted the review request and here we are!
The poetry is structured in a way that makes this anthology a quick read - they are short, to the point and descriptive. I did notice odd spellings or word usages, but this can sometimes be cropped up to the author's style.
I think the struggle I have with poetry is that my brain has a hard time getting it to flow as I read - it feels choppy and detached, which has an impact to my overall experience.
This collection is not overly positive - which isn't a bad thing. Some of the best poems out there are based in inner conflict, world issues, and mental health. I'm a huge mental health advocate, so some of the poems reflected some of my own situations well. I believe this was written during the height of the Coronavirus pandemic, so it's only natural for it to be critical of human actions and the activity of a virus that threw the world into chaos.
Reading the synopsis can be a little misleading. I had a hard time seeing the differences between the three viruses. There were some heavy overtones of religion (again, not a bad thing, but it's not something I entirely connect with). Otherwise, the language in the poems was kept clean and simple, with some additions of scientific understanding, socio-political points, and comments about environmental impact.
I will be the first to say that I struggle with poetry and how limited it can be, as well as my own difficulties with the flow of a poetic piece. I do acknowledge I took a chance on this collection, but it's not a genre I am tempted to read again. If you love thought-provoking poetry about real-life matters, definitely give this one a shot.
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