Pastoral Suite

A Writer Shed Review for National Poetry Month

I came to know John Muro’s work when I accepted one of his poems for publication in Writer Shed Stories, Vol. 3: Second Thoughts. It was an easy decision.

I am not a poetry expert. I write it and consume it, and I know what I like when I read it. I know what sings to me. However, I am not a scholar nor an experienced critic of it. Still, I know the poets I love, and I know why I love them.

And I love John Muro.

Pastoral Suite is a sensory celebration, not unlike all of John’s work. Its overall theme is the seasons of the year linked to the season of life, and the time-driven journey of this pairing. John’s words are full of grace, intense discovery, joy, and sorrow, all woven in a quilt of family, friends, and the natural world. John’s poems often draw on nature and in Pastoral Suite, that element of his work is at its peak. You can feel the wind, touch the blooms, sense the raw and inevitable connection between human emotion and the land.

There are many wonderful poems in this collection, but one in particular gives the clearest look into what the reader will find here. “Breakwater” comes in the early pages. The poem uses a coastal structure — one that protects from tides and storms — as a metaphor. John builds the emotions through beautiful sensory language. The poem remained with me long after I first read it. Not an unusual occurrence when reading the poems in Pastoral Suite.

What I wish for is for these poems to be heard. Read them, yes, but read them out loud. The music is evident. One can sense wonder and the human spirit singing along with you.

Pastoral Suite is also a collection of dedications, poems inspired by those who are close and important people in the poet’s life. It’s a personal touch, yes, but the words resonate far beyond the personal. They are emotional tendons evoking our own connections to those we love and cherish. They are dedications to all of us.

Also by John Muro: In the Lilac Hour & Other Poems