In his book “Beauty in the Word,” the late Stratford Caldecott wrote: “To be enchanted by story is to be granted a deeper insight into reality.”
I humbly submit a corollary: “To be enchanted by poetry is to be granted a glimpse into the poet’s soul.” That is what awaits readers of Thomas Zampino’s second published collection of poetry, “synchronicity” – a glimpse into the soul of a perceptive witness of worlds within the world:
“If yesterday never happened, tomorrow becomes just so much collateral damage
And once every breath needs to last a lifetime, there is no time left for living
Sometimes mutiny best serves the unnerved heart.”
Poetry is an expression of the distance between one’s vision and one’s heart, and in Zampino’s case, that distance is short and direct. This large collection of short poems encapsulates the wisdom and keen acumen acquired throughout his experience as husband, father, friend and observer of everything around him. Zampino is not a lawyer who happens to write poetry – he is a poet who happens to practice law.
The collection’s first poem, “synchronicity,” sets the stage for the rest that follow. It’s more than a simple observation of time’s passage, and its effect on a relationship, where circumstances and events cause changes in dreams and plans.
“… four decades and it occurs to me that our steps were never linear
because as we cross over from circle to circle together
we simply kept expanding our world along the way.”
Zampino describes those realities as an unchoreographed dance – one that remains unfinished. His words create a Venn diagram composed of countless expanding circles, concurrent yet consecutive. Before you realize it you are in its center, the vantage point from where everything is beautiful, even the broken:
“all these things are broken
and I was once the man to fix them
but I’m older now, and tired too
and there will always be more
to fix, so I’ll let them be, just like
me (broken has its place).”
For some, “synchronicity” might be a profitable book to read during Lent. This collection isn’t meant to be read in one sitting, despite the reader’s temptation to devour it, and despite its well-organized presentation. Each poem is tightly focused, whether on an individual or on a thought or a strange circumstance, or even on a solitary leaf. Zampino’s verse captures the feeling in that moment and you are instantly transported. If you allow the words to penetrate your mind and heart and soul, you can sense your perspective sharpen, or perhaps you begin to see through his eyes. And you want that perception to persist – want to be synchronized with it for as long as possible.
Each poem breathes its own rhythm, beats with its own cadence. Each work is its own lifeform, a unique species and genus taxonomy. Each poem’s structure and spacing uncannily matches its theme and sentiment. They are transformative, yet incredibly accessible. As one reviewer wrote, “At its core ‘synchronicity’ can be read as a love story. One not only existing between lovers, but one that also reveals how synchronicity – seemingly unconnected moments of ‘co-incidences’ – lovingly shaped a life fully lived.”
“synchronicity” is available for purchase at Amazon, and you can enjoy additional poems at https://thomaszampino.wordpress.com.