I'll start my review by giving Ticker Tape Poetry and Other Things by J.M.Butler 4 out of 4 stars because it was a perfect book, and I liked everything about it.
Ticker Tape Poetry and Other Things is a collection of 23 short poems, most of which are about the dogs the author has trained in her time as a professional groomer. These poems the author wrote for the owners of the dogs, after each dog's passing, in order to ease their (the owner's) pain. Besides the poems about dogs and grooming, there were other poems on a varying range of topics, from a fond poem to her granddaughter, who was then in boot camp, to a reprimanding poem to the cooperate office of a chain store that had pissed her. And all the poems were lovely.
This book was a short and engaging read. There was an introductory paragraph at the beginning of each poem. Plus the introductory story, most poems spanned about a page or two, and a few took three to four pages. With a simple diction and a generally upbeat tone, the poems had no definite rhyme scheme, but, often, two or three lines would rhyme. The lyrics were good, and, a couple of times, the author provided the rhythm for a poem. I noticed only five errors in the whole of this book, so I can easily say that this book was professionally edited.
It was hard to pick what I liked best about this amazing book, but I think it had to be J.M.Butler's sense of humor, which I guess she got from God. (She said God has a sense of humor, and I agree.) I'll start by appreciating the fact that she chose to write this happy book, despite having lost all her family to the Dark Man. Moving on, the author's sense of humor was apparent from the very first poem, which reads:
"There once was a man from Mena
Who thought his life was suprema
But then his three wives
Discovered his lies
And they took his ass to the cleana
Yeah, I know. There are no such words as “suprema” or “cleana,” so give me a break and call it creative license."
I don't know why, but this last commentary cracked me up badly. There was another humorous poem, Big Sam, and it was about a chihuahua. The first line of Big Sam reads: "Sam was a Chihuahua but at heart a Great Dane."
Besides the humor, I liked other things about this book. Butler's rhyme, in which she takes pride, was impressive and humorous (like in the first poem above). I also liked the author's tone, which varied from poem to poem—fondness as she recalled the mischiefs of her furry customers and compassion as she wrote poems to be presented at Christmas. I also liked the introductory story at the beginning of each poem. There was nothing I disliked about Ticker Tape Poetry and Other Things; it was worth the time and resources.
If you're an animal lover, you'll love this book. I think anyone who is empathetic towards animals will enjoy this book. There were mentions of the Lord and angels in one poem, God's Little Crew, and the author often implied at the end of most poems that the furry fellows were in heaven. There was also a ridiculously vulgar poem, for which the author apologized to those who might be offended, but I didn't mind. If you were bothered by anything in this last paragraph, I fear you might not enjoy a few poems in this book.
This book is not your typical poetry book with heavy words and metaphoric lines. I think of it as a simple and special book from a poet who has got the heart and rhymes.
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Ticker Tape Poetry and Other Things
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