REVIEW: What I Found in the Dark | Clayton C. Bye | Chase Enterprises | Poetry

Title: What I Found in the Dark
Author: Clayton Clifford Bye
Website of Author:
Website of Publisher: http://www.claytonbye.com
Genre: Poetry
Publication date: 2010
ISBN -13: 978-0-9781774-2-3
Length: 70 pages
Format: eBook, may be offered in print later
Reviewer: Lucille P Robinson
Alternative-Read.com


The Black Veil


I don't always understand poetry. Sometimes I read a poem and wonder what the author is trying to say. Sometimes I have to read a poem several times to get any meaning. Clayton Bye has included in his book of poetry brief introductions to each poem that will help the reader understand his poems.


The poems move me like other books of poetry have not. Perhaps it is because I feel a connection to the ideas Clayton Bye uses, perhaps it is a mutual understanding of things that lie in the Black Veil present between two people, between this life and after death, between this world and the possibility of one in another dimension, or the veil between our waking and sleeping moments. To me the Black Veil could easily be the subconscious mind because it is so alive and yet so hidden and still it plays such an important part in our lives.


It is difficult to review a book of poetry because of the different ideas presented, but I found the following truths about Clayton Bye's What I Found in the Dark poems. They make you wonder, ask questions, imagine, and, yes, feel sadness, joy, discomfort, and perhaps a yearning for love, for understanding, for a close mate to share your life with. Yes, these poems are deep, some rhyme, some don't, some are clear on their own, some become clear from the introduction that comes before it.


The poem 'The Town of Me' strikes a certain chord in me, almost like Clayton Bye knew what makes me a person. 'The Farm' evoked many memories of farm life for me. The chickens and gathering eggs, the pig, lol, the milk cow and calf, and what we called the 'truck patch'; a larger plot of garden than a usual kitchen garden which was planted to provide not only food to can or freeze for later, but to provide fresh produce to sell. Those were wonderful days. 'Crazy for you Baby' read like a song lyric complete with a chorus and reminded me of the country song 'Mama, he's crazy, crazy over me' which is probably not the title of this song. 'One Forever' is so lovely, yet so sad. This poem seems to speak of a yearning for another despite the other's inability to offer more than friendship. These are just a few of Bye's poems that moved me so much and gave me back so many memories. On the downside, there are a few poems having an excruciating sadness about them, yet a reader could feel the optimism hiding beneath the sadness. These made me wonder if Clayton Bye wasn't talking about himself.


Author Bio:


Clayton Bye, under the imprint Chase Enterprises, has been writing and publishing since 1994. The author of several books, as well as internet short stories, poems, articles and reviews, he's also an editor and small business management consultant. Visit his website to learn more about the author and all his other writings. Check out The Sorcerers Key,  it's a great story. Read also Bare Knuckle MBA,  a wonderful book to help those wishing to open their own business.


Please check out the staff page for more details about Clayton's books. His staff bio can also be found here. 

Disclaimer: We do allow Alternative-Read reviewers to review each other's creative work with proper notification to our readers.