In this collection by long-haul trucker and photographer Steven Prop, poems capture desire and thwarted love, small but poignant moments, and more.

Many poems have amusing titles, such as “Existentially Challenged: Am I Here? Am I Not? Is That Bacon I Smell?” or “Excuse Me. Could You Not Play Hopscotch on My Cerebral Cortex Today? That Would be Great, Thanks.” They are mostly free verse, though Prop also includes rhyming work and haiku, which are some of his best offerings (e.g. “Love, Hate Relationship with Sex and Pain”: “What I have to say/ is noise, and not short nor sweet./ How will you mute me?” )

Many are brief, surrealist narratives, as in “The One Who Leaves,” in which the speaker tries to engage an unresponsive dinner companion. At one point, “I look up at the waitress and ask her to repeat herself./ She asks me who I’m talking to./ I tell her the past./ Everyone loses interest and I ask for an iced tea.”

There’s pain in these poems, but there’s hope, too, as in “Free to Fly”: “To my friend who can’t find a way./ Take your hand/ and place it on my heart. / It beats for you./ It’s strong and it’s true./ We’re gonna find you a new play and/ a new part.”

The book, unfortunately, also has several flaws. The work contains typos and infelicities of language (why the nonstandard usage in “We’ll sail them skies together forever”?) Some poems read like prose: “I could never love you/ the way that you love me,/ and it breaks my heart…” Additionally, clichés abound: “Her smile is like sunshine,” “laughs with her eyes,” “thief in the night.” “bathe me in light.” And some lines are puzzling: “I’m obsequious to my chains.”

In sum, while readers will find some rewarding moments in this book, a better culling of the poems, leaving only the best, would enhance this offering.

Also available in hardcover and ebook.