Review of “Thoughts & Musings” by PK Rankin

Score: 94+/100 (9.4+ out of 10)

We didn't have much poetry come our way this season, but if we did, this would be at the top of the list!

Thoughts & Musings is an excellent, well-crafted, eloquently-worded, and thought-provoking collection of (mostly Christian) poems and “musings” (short, thoughtful prose) by PK Rankin!

This book also features solid and fitting illustrations by Cesar Lista to accompany many of the poems. Unlike many other poetry books with illustrations, these illustrations are actually quite good and enhance the finished product rather than distracting or detracting from it. Well, you have to make an exception for the first illustration. That's a small miss.

The people in these illustrations actually look like people and not like deformed 12-bit characters! They actually look better than that. In fact, the colored illustrations of the couple on page 44 & 50 are brilliant! In fact, the illustration on page 50 may be one of the better illustrations of the whole season! It's almost Don Bluth or Disney quality! Credit to Cesar Lista for really enhancing and elevating this book!

There are also several photographs provided by the author, particularly of their loved ones who serve as muses and inspirations behind certain poems.

However, you're probably not picking up this book for illustrations or photographs. You're picking up this poetry book for the poetry—for the writing. And in that regard, this book also delivers!

The book opens up STRONG with one of its best poems, titled Life. At first glance, this seems like a short, standard, traditional poem with quatrains and an ABAB rhyme scheme, but it's so much more than that! These aren't run-of-the-mill rhymes. The poet marries the “OOH” sound in “doom” with “consumed.” They marry the “EE” sound in “plead” with “decree.” The “urh” sound in “search” is paired with “church.” These are words with similar sounds with suffixes that are spelled entirely differently.

The musing titled The Author features one of our favorite lines in the book:

“Merely a spot of ink on the grand pages of history. And, yet, at the same time, each second, we live is an entire microcosm onto itself.”

What does this mean? Well, to us it means that the universe might be so much bigger than us, however, it's still impressive to think that we're a part of it—and that we matter in it.

And that goes along with one of the themes of the book: our special place in the universe as a creation crafted by God.

There are a few allusions (if not direct references) to The Bible. For example, “When I was no longer a child, I put aside childish things” sounds an awful lot like a lesser-known part of everyone's favorite Corinthians verse: 1 Corinthians 13 (you know, the one about what love is?).

Now, there are two poems/musings (along with Life) that really stand out as extraordinary:

Freedom is Messy and Start Living.

Freedom is Messy is probably the boldest and (arguably) best poem in the book. It is epic in scope and brave in its stance: reminding the reader (and humanity) why freedom is so precious, valued, and something worth fighting for. It's also a reminder of how freedom is a double-edged sword, a gift from God that—with the power of choice—we can do good or evil with. And this is what makes it so “messy” as the poem constantly reminds us. In fact, you can make the argument that this poem takes a stronger stance toward respecting the power of freedom and not taking advantage of it. Freedom isn't something to take for granted. It's also something we need to be responsible with and not abuse. Freedom doesn't mean doing whatever you want, it's about having the power of choice and making the right choices. One of the key lines in this poem, we think, is: “Our republic, in God's word, was heavily grounded!” This indicates that the writer feels that we are losing the foundations and principles on which our constitution was written and our nation was built.

Start Living is also a standout work, although perhaps not to the level of Freedom is Messy. This musing concerns the complacency of people and how we don't value our lives enough to take risks with it. We love to stay inside our comfort zone and feel safe and comfortable. We're afraid to speak out or tell our “truth” because we're afraid of offending people or being canceled. The key word here is “uncontroversial.” Everything most people seek to do is “normal” and “uncontroversial.” Is that really living?

There are also some poems/musings about love that didn't wow us quite as much, but we did come away with a cool line about how love is like respect, it's something earned!

This collection is great food for thought, especially for Christians and people of faith. It's enhanced by great writing and impressive illustrations.

Check it out on Amazon!