Book Review: Moondust: A Collection of Poems

Moondust: A Collection of Poems by Kahlani B. Steele
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Having previously enjoyed poetry by author Kahlani B. Steele, and having just witnessed the end of the first moon mission in half a century, I cracked into Moondust eagerly.

The poetry is neatly arranged into sections: Nature, Feathers and Fur, Childhood, Love and Heartbreak, Emotions, Self-Reflection, People and Places. This makes it easy to bounce around the book, targeting what your soul needs to read right now. I appreciated the book’s formatting; plenty of white space, individual lines given a few extra points of space between them so the words don’t get lost in each other.

The poem that carries the book’s title did not disappoint, though it was not what I expected. An intimate look at a normal weather occurrence on earth, but branded with the glow of the moon, something we humans can’t help but call magic. The imagery is familiar, yet exotic. It ties our precious planet with our only moon, in a gentle, meaningful way.

By contrast, “Blistered Soles” is not gentle, it is not refreshing. It’s a meld of nature and human industry – agonizingly tactile, intensely familiar.

“Game of Cat and Robin” delighted this hopelessly cat-addicted reader, especially since it singled out the breed of cat that owns me! Feathers and Fur is of course my favorite section.

“Walking an Endless Loop” made me laugh at its cleverness and sigh at the predictability and often unimaginative ways of us humans.

These are just a few examples of my personal standouts. You’ll find your own, as your unique life experiences will connect in ways meaningful to you. I highly recommend this book, especially to those who may not think they like poetry. If you are alive and human, and have a heart, eyes, and breath, you will find connections in here, I promise.