Customer Reviews:

• "Enter the world of the end of days, where questions of the faeries’ fate are addressed in fanciful rhyme. Thirty-nine poems inspire our imaginations, starting out with poems of faeries that do both good as well as mischievous things resembling human traits, and culminating in thoughts about Judgment Day. Will the faery nation be judged the same as humankind?

The beginning of this chapbook reminds us of the charming faeries who hide, flutter in and out of view, and sometimes play little mischievous tricks. In “Subtle Presences” we read:

          From the corner of my eye,
          I glimpse faeries rushing by;
          On the darkest moonless night,
          Faeries frolic, out of sight.

“Dimming of The Light” continues with this line of thought with this excerpt:

          What’s that rustling in the den?
          Have the faeries come again?
          Is that creaking of the floor
          Faeries dancing as before?
          And that dimming of the light-
          Is it faeries taking flight?

“Comings & Goings” also talks of mischievous ways....or is it human imagination?

          Like the sunshine through the haze,
          During cool October days,
          Like the wind at ten below,
          Faeries come and faeries go.

One of my favorite poems carries a charming story about a faery who loses her shoe. Here is an example of these lyrical verses:

          While flying loop-de-loops last night
          Above the sleeping town,
          She’d lost a lady slipper shoe,
          Which now could not be found.

Towards the end of this enchanting chapbook, the poems become more serious as in “the Latter Days”, in the following excerpt:

          Are these for certain the latter days?
          Will the world shortly be ending?
          Will faery folk change forward ways,
          Their manners abruptly mending?

Will the faeries save the world? Or, will they be judged with mankind at the end of days? In “The Judgment” we read:

          With Armageddon comes the final truth
          Will faeries be judged more kindly, forsooth?
          If faeries are angels fallen from grace,
          Surely they’ve now earned a Heavenly place.

This theme continues in poems such as “The Final Word,” with these words:

          Then when the proclamation comes,
          Let’s pray with all out might
          The faeries will continue on,
          Let’s pray that we are right.

Hope is perhaps not all lost, and so you must read on to determine for yourself what you think might be in store for the faery kingdom as they face the final days with mankind. In “Swept Up” we read:

          On that final day, I’d see
          Faery folk ascent with me;
          I would hope to see them fly
          Heavenward, to native sky,

...and the final lines of that same poem:

          Armageddon will bring answers
          For these little faery dancers.

I will close here with an excerpt from the final poem in the chapbook, entitled “Vision”:

          After the battle, the smoke, and the blood,
                    After the gnashing and wailing;
          After destruction much worse than The Flood,
                    What will remain, prevailing?

Pick up this visionary chapbook of poetry to see how the final poem ends; you can determine for yourself whether or not you may be sharing the future with the faeries! - Jan Turner, coauthor of Faery Folk & Fireflies

• "With simplicity and intensity, the original cover art by Emily Romano draws the reader into Before Oblivion. The warm fall of light from the windows of a cubist building, so like the thread of hope that she weaves throughout this chapbook, contrasts with the otherwise somber tones of her painting. And while there is a sense of foreboding, there is also the full moon of fruition and a sense of fulfillment to come.

While reading these poems I was touched by their nursery rhyme quality and delighted by their subtle humor and twists.

From “Faeries in the Fog”:

          All the streets are steeped in fog;
          Carefully we joggers jog;
          Fog is better far than smog.

          Near the street lights’ muted glow
          Faeries gaze at us below,
          Laughing at our movements slow.

          We can’t see them flying there,
          Thick fog hides them so they dare
          To fly circles in the air.

The chapbook is somewhat allegorical in nature as the plight of the faeries parallels what may yet be the plight of humankind. The chapbook begins in a light vein and becomes more somber as the Day of Judgment nears. And while this chapbook can be interpreted on a deeper level, it is a pleasure to read for the natural rhythm and seemingly effortless rhyme of Emily’s poems:

From “Subtle Presences”:

          Faery footfalls make no sound,
          Yet I know they are around;
          Wee wing-beats are whisper-soft,
          Yet I know they are aloft.

Flutter with the faeries in this wonderful collection of poems as you ponder the faeries’ fate in Before Oblivion." - Margaret Smith