Title: Talking with God for No Reason
Author: Michael Joshua
Publisher: LitFire Publishing
ISBN: 1643983563
Pages: 104
Genre: Poetry
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Hollywood Book Reviews
Talking with God for No Reason is a collection of poetry with poems serving as an ode to God and to life. Author Michael Joshua writes each poem with the focus on his strive for openness with everything in life including love, relationships, and higher powers. The collection weaves through various profound and meaningful poems which focus on various themes in life such as love, death, life, and success. A few standouts that will catch the eye are “One Life Your Life,” “In the Grave,” and “First Love” but each poem will open your eyes through Joshua’s profound statements and beautiful style.
The poems are short in length with a simple style and often with words arranged to create is a stunning visual. A few poems even use a single sentence for a thought-provoking read such as “Life Question?” which is simply a question asking if you love yourself and “Explain Experience” which breaks down a sentence into three lines. A few of the poems are in the form of lists which give each word a significant pause which makes for a profound statement. For example the poem “First Love” places the word love at the beginning, followed by listing God, yourself, and family. This is a simple poem but gives a punch to each word while also drawing the eye to each, giving more meaning behind loving yourself and loving God. Joshua’s style is carried from poem to poem with several about opening your mind and forming a nice lyrical sound.
Joshua explores a variety of themes throughout each poem focusing on the sense of self, living life, love, death, and faith. Several of the poems focus on negative emotions such as one about aging yourself with worry and one centered on depression called “Onset of A Depression.” Other significant poems are “Hollow” which details that negative feeling when you’re tired, dealing with disappointments in “Shortcomings,” and facing regrets in “Doubts Regrets.” Though while “Doubts Regrets” focuses on doubts it also has an uplifting aspect with advice to not doubt anything about yourself. This poem, along with others, also focuses on being remembered after death which is a theme that comes up at various times throughout including in “Death Respect” which focuses on dead heroes and the impact they left. This directly ties into other poems where Joshua contemplates how he wants to be remembered when he dies and how he wants to live life how he wanted in the poem “In the Grave.”
Other themes include loving yourself and forming a connection which is the focal point of “Creation” which says to not hate yourself instead choose to love yourself. A few also explore love and romance with “Unconditional Heart,” “My Wife,” “Love or the Idea of Love,” “Love, Forever,” and “Lonely Woman Song.” Each of these poems opens up different depths of love through the various lens even looking at “Friendship” and how to forgive a friend even if they’ve been an enemy. Music and art also play a part and encourage letting life speak through these mediums which are specifically seen in the poems “Remembering You Through A Love Song,” “Art Student,” and “Songwriters.” Talking to God for No Reason is a stunning collection of poetry perfect for those seeking profound poems written in a beautiful style and cover themes related to love, life, and death.