James Richard Hansen’s Skies and Chasms is a collection of free-verse poems arranged in two sections: pieces varied in theme and often referencing the natural world and “Love Poems for Kristen.” The overall genre is light, inspirational, and self-help.

Topics in the first section range from the beauty of Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique (“moody and intense/ surging from the deepest ocean/ […] it captured me the first time I heard it”) to struggling in life (“Strong undercurrents/ pulled me under”) to a beloved friend (“Her unmistakable dignity/ commanded respect./ And with character to spare/ and warmth to match it,/ she charmed people everywhere.”)

The love poems in the second section pay homage to his wife (“When you came into my life,/ I felt like I was flying-/ soaring into your heart,/ and you into mine”).

Although heartfelt and passionate, Hansen’s poems consistently rely more on telling than showing. In “Another World,” for example, he cites “a flood of visions/ and stimulating sounds,/ piquant aromas/ and the tantalizing touch/ of another world.” While he talks about sensory details, he doesn’t offer examples of them to connect viscerally with readers.

Similarly, clichéd images and phrases substitute for memorable details of more individualized experience. For instance, in “Fighting,” he writes, “I fought through life/ knowing that every fight/ could be my last.”) The specifics of “every fight” are missing, limiting readers to a superficial investment in the speaker’s journey.

Even in his love poems to Kristen, readers have access mostly to generalities. (“At these moments,/ life is superb”; “when you say you love me, my joy surpasses these miracles”). Hansen’s general and conceptual language add to the work’s abstract, rather than emotional, nature.
In this volume, specifics that would help its work connect with readers on a deep level are largely lacking, greatly limiting its effectiveness. Still, the collection is a loving tribute to the author’s wife and could be enjoyed by readers of light, inspirational verse.

Also available as an ebook and audio book.