"Fondue" by Jack Hayes @rfrostbanjo

The Spring Ghazals 
Jack Hayes
Review by Jessica Fox-Wilson
Interview with Jessica Fox-Wilson
Buy it from Lulu

If you don't know the poetry of Jack Hayes, you should. Hayes is musician and a poet currently residing in Idaho. He has recently released, self-published, a book of poems, The Spring Ghazals. What is a ghazal, you ask? Good question, one that is best answered by a poetry pro: see Poetic Form - Ghazal over at Poets. Also, make sure to check out the full review of Hayes' book by Jessica Fox-Wilson; and while your at it, you should also read her interview with Hayes.

The book begins with the section of of spring ghazals, all dated in someway: either literally or with in the poem through descriptions of spring sights, sounds, and smells. Hayes' attention to language is refreshing and a joy to read in The Spring Ghazals' section. However, the section that I enjoyed most was the Kitchen Poem section, and of the kitchen poems, "Fondue."

If you haven't caught-on, I'm a big dork. I'm a big dork for science fiction in all its manifestations. In an interview with Sword and Saga Press, I was asked what book I would save from Bradbury's Fahrenheit  451. The answer was simple: The Ferengi Rules of Acquisition by Quark as told to Ira Steven Behr. Anyway, now that I've solidified my dorkiness, I'm going to "out" Hayes.

"Fondue" is a poem dripping in Star Trek references. The strange melting pot of metaphors - food, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine - creates a sweet meal, marrying poetry, narrative, and Gene Roddenberry. Here is one of my favorite sets of lines:

"dipping between dimensions the pale / purple twilight melts into the space-time continuum / just another Star Trek: The Next Generation episode the USS / Enterprise suddenly shifting at light speeds into the wrong place at / the right time or vice-versa..." (p. 31)

On the surface, the light hearted reference is fun and caught my attention, caught me off guard really - a good thing in a book of poetry or any book for that matter. However, the more I consider those lines in context of the rest of the book, I wonder at the underling emotions that produced "suddenly shifting at light speeds into the wrong place at / the right time or vice-versa" (Hayes). Those few words seem haunted with pain, as if life is moving so quickly that it either passes buy unnoticed or it is slammed into buy accident. Whichever, the feeling is one of being lost in space where planning and preparation are rendered useless due to the speed of travel - the fleeting nature of existence.

The Spring Ghazals is worth the read for just this one poem. There are many others that are just as good or better in the collection, but I will be forever haunted by "Fondue."

If you want to read more about Jack Hayes or The Spring Ghazals, make sure that you follow the links. Hayes is blogging about his experience self-publishing and the inspiration for this poems, right now. Please help support this poet by visiting his websites, following him on twitter @rfrostbanjo, and especially by buying his book from Lulu.