JOURNEYS

Karl Hicken has titled each of his hauntingly evocative poem a "Journey" followed by a number. In doing so, he takes the reader along a paint-by-number tour through life, capturing bittersweet moments of experience in vivid snapshots of memory.

Journeys is an eloquent representation of a boy's journey to manhood. Many of the lyrical, well-crafted poems evoke mystical years of childhood tainted by the trembling fears of nightmare. Whether in the schoolyard of locker room, or in the relative safety of home, something beyond boyish antics and childhood mischief lurks. While gentler sentiments are recalled as the author remembers his grandparents and pays a loving tribute to his parents' resilience.