This mixed poetry and prose collection begins innocently enough with the acrostic poem “It’s All About Me.” Spelling the author’s name vertically, the A stands for “Adorable, cute and cuddly even.” Later, the S, which stands for “Sexy,” hints at a bit more of what this collection makes as its central focus—the sex life and fantasies of the author.
A frequent reader of erotica will likely find many of the graphic descriptions of sex, particularly in the five short stories included here, no more inventive than the plots of storied porn movies. From a night watchman on patrol to a prisoner who escaped from jail, the stories ring familiar. Differentiating them from this genre of one-night chance encounters is the fact that nearly all of these stories end with a description of how the sex-starved couple made their encounters a regular routine.
In the poetry, the sexual language is more playful. The poems explore moments, rather than plots with a definitive end, and celebrate the object of the speaker’s desires. The graphic language at times is still there, but when mixed with descriptions of a woman’s “honey pot,” it takes on new, and often fun, dimensions. In “The Lucky Peeping Tom,” the author describes a woman as “my coco cola / Shaped woman / Tantalizing / Hot tamale / Finger licking like KFC / She meant everything to me …” The most successful poem in the collection is one that uses this playful language that hints at attraction, only to reveal that a sleek television set was the object of the man’s fantasy.
Ainsley Carter reveals a lot on the page, never shying away from feelings that are corny and romantic, as well as those that are more concerned with immediate appetites. Readers searching for a light read filled with sexual adventure may find some fun in this collection.
Also available as an ebook.
