“Sam’s ability to focus a sense of balance within [the book’s] themes is truly impressive.”
Short Cycles by Sam Fischer
Toho Publishing $9.99
Reviewed by Philip Dykhouse
When I read poetry, I’m searching for connection. I long to see myself in its mirror. I want to run my fingers along the seams of what the author is sowing. So, I was quite fortunate when I picked up Sam Fischer’s debut chapbook Short Cycles. It completely drew me into its world with its smart and thoughtful collection of moments, feelings, and observations that band together to create poetry that is both familiar and unique.
Short Cycles is true to its title. The book is broken up into several small chapters, or cycles as you will. These cycles subtly examine such themes as love, death, acceptance, failure, memories, and spirituality, among others. Each cycle has its own title and hand drawn art to accompany it. By separating the poems this way, I found the structure of the book to be one of its greatest strengths.
The first thing I noticed about Short Cycles is its creative use of the physical, non-human world to convey its themes. For example, the cycle “Do Birds Dream of Falling” consists of three short poems that use the lives of birds as a metaphor for our struggles, with lines like,
“It must be hard to always have to move your wings just to stay alive.”
In another cycle, there’s a dog that finds it isn’t fulfilled by finally catching its prey,
“ …howling for the earth to give them the dream they want to chase again.”
I also found that Sam’s description of colors and shapes plays a major part in building the world that he is trying to show us:
“…running his hand through the graying hair of his wife, thinking of the sharp
red memories, and how like ash it is, these moving living lives we touch.”
Notwithstanding, even with its inventive use of nature to outline its language, the undeniable heart of Short Cycles is its breadth of human emotions. With the cycle “Julia”, Sam crafts two narratives of desire that feel all too real. In one poem, a man stares out the window of a trolley, listening to a song that reminds him of a woman,
“…the empty center from which we lean away toward raindrops sliding toward headphones nestled in.”
With the next piece, a person is transporting bread to someone they proclaim to love and comes to see the similarities between the two,
“…we hold each other, warm and thick, with space and nothingness, rising…”
The cycle “David” revolves around the titular David and how he copes with death and depression. In these poems, I find David observing what is happening instead of simply lamenting it.
“David let his fingers gently hold each other and watched the sinking white twilight behind the trees. The
same thing must have been happening to the letters on the headstone, which had all but disappeared.”
While the theme of these pieces appear dark, Sam is sure to paint rays of light within them.
“Buttoning up he was thankful for not making his body hold wet paper heavy with ink.”
When beginning Short Cycles, you are presented with meditations on how complex and sometimes unfair life can be,
“There’s a painful narrowness to being held between things.”
Still, by the end, there appears to be a steadiness in what it wants you to know,
“…so if you find yourself
alone in the water
know there is a thin cord you tied
keeping what you need close to you
and there is someone coming
who will find you.”
That’s what this book does so well. Sam’s ability to focus a sense of balance within its themes is truly impressive. His concise, powerful poetry is beautifully written and well-paced. With every poem, I felt an instant bond. There are lines throughout the book that convey feelings I have never been fully able to express myself. It’s rare to find a voice as fresh and yet, as wise as Sam’s. Much like the cycles of our lives, I’m sure that this book will find its way back to me soon.
Philip Dykhouse lives in Philadelphia. His chapbook Bury Me Here was published and released by Toho Publishing in early 2020. His work has appeared in Toho Journal, Moonstone Press, everseradio.com, and Spiral Poetry. He was the featured reader for the Dead Bards of Philadelphia at the 2018 Philadelphia Poetry Festival.