The Dollhouse Mirror: Poetry by Frank Watson Paperback – Box set, October 20, 2014

The quality of the writing is decent, but too dark for me. I read it all in 10 minutes, so I decided to gift it on.Teenage me would have loved it more than adult me.I do love the cover.Too quick of a read to justify rebuying.

I was not sure what to expect when purchasing this book. I am not disappointed though. Frank Watson has a talent for transporting your mind with minimal verbiage. I will be keeping this one.

I enjoy this poetry very much.

This collection of poetry indeed take me into a different style as well as taking my imagination outside the box of realism to make believe.I used to write some poetry some long years ago. But the style within the cover of The Dollhouse Mirror some how makes me want to create some imaginable worlds of my own.The Cover I feel fits the book. I love the soft colors and the hand holding the, what some might say is just a frame from a mirror with the silhouette's. I say it just gives of the impression that it is attainable to wish for this style of home, family etc.The only thing that I would have loved more or would have made me want even more would have to be that in a few places I was not moved. It seemed to be a bit dry or lacking of something for me.Will not be giving any examples as to not wanting to give any thing away. Pick up your own copy and see where your mind will take you within the pages of author Frank Watson's poems.So for the above reasons I will be giving this book my Breath of Life rating of:Four Clocks!!Disclosure: I did receive the above book in exchange for my honest opinion and or review. But the Opinions are my own and yours may differ.

Watson, in many of these poems, has found the fine line. The fine line I mean is the moment before, the blankness between living and dying, or the anticipation of doing in the state of nothing. This, I believe, is the ultimate goal of poetry. To find that mirror between reality and impossibility. Thus, "The Dollhouse Mirror" is an apt name for this collection.For readers, I point you to poems 21, 22, 23, 38, and 39. Frank can better explain what I mean:pausing in thatmoment of lightbetween the stepsof nowand imagination(p.22)This book is a collection of micropoetry, in the style of various Japanese forms. I find that some of the poems are wordier than neccessary. I know this sounds silly when all the poems are only a handful of words in total. But consider the poem on page 15:her robe is heldby a simple pinbut no onewill get past the swordthat protectswhat's underneath(p.15)The first two stanzas could be simplified:a pinholds her robeno onegets past the sword

The Dollhouse Mirror provides a doll's-eye view out the window and tells of life through a series of vignettes and insights that are short, precise, and reflective observations. The twist is the perspective as the doll observes the 'girl of her dreams' and also the wider world this embraces, while the works themselves are particles of insight and wonder that are vivid and revealing: "alone among the flowers/sleeping beneath the sun/our love's a fallen shower/whose water path has run." Blend in tarot and emotional connection and you have a vivid stream of thought that is reflective and engrossing!

I enjoy micropoetry, an unusual art form where each poem consists of three to six lines of three to five words each. Frank Watson is a master of this form. But this book is a microbook too: only 38 poems, with no introduction or commentary, easily consumed in less than half an hour. The book is a delicious appetizer, an intriguing exercise, but its brevity is somewhat unsatisfying. For a meal, I recommend Watson's earlier collection, Seas to Mulberries (http://www.amazon.com/Seas-Mulberries-Poetry-Frank-Watson/dp/1939832020/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&sr=&qid=).

This is a book of delicate, lovely poems that capture moments, rather like haiku, that take readers out of ordinary life with its busy comings and goings and allows us to stop and breathe in his words and images.