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First Impression: A delightful pocket rocket full of philosophical musings about love and longing for the past.

Then, the extremities of the soul

set off the extremities of the body,

reaching toward nobody, imploring:

Please take my incipient mania

and turn it into something worthwhile.

Simply Gone Book Cover

For the sake of transparency, I want to firstly let you know that I was gifted a copy of this book by the author in exchange for a fair and timely review.

Described as a short chapbook, Simply Gone by Jeffrey T Diamond is a collection of twenty poems and a short story that centers around the love and painful loss of a soulmate. The book is also likened to the works of ‘Confessional’ poets such as Berryman, Plath and Lowell, giving literary poetry lovers something spectacular to look forward to.

As expected, the book starts with the happy times before eventually taking the reader into the depths of despair on this rollercoaster of heartache. Although gone are the times of passion, replaced by a different type of intimacy laid out in the poem The Marriage where the couple are taking the time to lay in each other’s unmoving company, content with the closeness of being.

Sometimes, girls become men

and boys become women.

Somehow, she became me

so that I might become her.

Each poem is carefully crafted, contemplative, and voiced in a way that is looking back with objectivity. They are recollections of previous chapters in the book of a couple’s love. Ever present is the longing, yearning for things to be as they once were. Threads of regret linger, almost as though the narrator blames themselves for the demise. Often not voiced aloud, it is a feeling that washes over the reader and tugs at the heartstrings.

Diamond takes the most mundane of events and yet somehow makes them interesting. For example, lying in bed together, taking a walk, pouring a cup of tea, even a brief chat over breakfast imparts words of wisdom and lessons to be learned. Interestingly, the retrospection is interspersed with philosophical musings but also sees a turning to Christ perhaps as a crutch to understand the relationship failings.

Ultimately, this book of poetry is suited to philosophical thinkers that err on the side of optimism. Despite the sadness in the failing of the relationship, there is no animosity. Rather, the poet is struggling to accept the end, and hasn’t really fallen out of love at all. There is no profanity or explicit language, but the ideas and complexity divulged make this a book suited to adults and perhaps college students. As aforementioned, the book is brief at 38 pages, but it is a book you need to sit with and take the time to appreciate. It’s also the kind of book you read repeatedly, learning, and seeing something new each time, hence being a great text to study in an official capacity.

Quick Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ / R Rated

Have your say: Does this sound like something you would read? Tell the Papergirl Community why, or why not, in the comments below. Or perhaps share your thoughts about the ‘confessional’ poets mentioned above. Looking forward to chatting with you all.

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