From One Child to Another.

Katherine L. Gordon is an editor and poet in Rockwood, Ontario. She is
the author of An Impact of Butterflies and Saving Camelot.

From One Child to Another conjures the bright-eyed wonder with which we used to greet the world. The style and language in these poems are richly varied and satisfying. The four parts of the book address the growing into experience, the appreciation for great friends and mentors who shape us, emotions both fierce and frivolous that play with all of us: “love leads our hearts to leap over logic.” That Daniel Kolos can draw joy and humorous acceptance of the tensest times in every life is a tribute to his warm and wise nature. The reader will be drawn to his eclectic friendships with great icons of literature who actually paved his path. These icons are both flawed and wonderful. Kolos exposes them with all their human failings and glories “so that their illusions could unravel.”

Kolos is an Egyptologist—an exciting background for a poet. The link from ancient art and literature to the symbols of the present is significantly drawn: “The ancient Egyptians wrote letters to their dead.”

“Good Girl, Bad Boys!” and “Mating Dance,” cleverly placed side by side, are examples of foolish human cultural restraints and baseless judgmentalism, while animals cavort in natural, appointed delight of bodies and fertility—the raison d’être of the world. They provoke much thought on the contrived conditions of so much of society, bringing to mind Dylan Thomas’s “Ode to a Faun.” As Daniel teaches us, “a soft bed and bad habits are no match for Nature: the winter sunrise wins.” And “where sacredness oozes from the earth.” A firm grounding in reverence for nature and warm respect for his peers are assets to this fine poet.

Daniel’s poem “Immigrant” is also part of his experience. Wherever we come from we can appreciate the spirit and body nurture of compassionate Canada. There is a naughty side, delightfully human, to be found in this collection. There is, as well, a sincere understanding of frailty and brevity that still enhance our education in this life. The lesson in this wonderfully warm little book is: “as for my mind, I carry it with me as a playmate.” Lines to remember for all our days and nights.