War-Wise and Other Poems

Written with language that works in harmony with the rhythm of the poems seasoned poet David J. Murray offers his third collection of work in <i>War-Wise and Other Poems</i>.<p> Presented in two parts the first set War-Wise contains thirty-five poems reflecting Murray's memories of life in Manchester England during World War II-a war that began when he was two years old. Emitting clear and powerful imagery some of the titles are straightforward narrative. Others are more reflective and address the effect the Holocaust had on his eight-year-old mind.<p> In Ghosts Murray combines the innocence of childhood with the violence of war.<p> <CENTER>In Sunday School we sometimes drew</CENTER> <CENTER>Pictures whose innocence shone through</CENTER> <CENTER>The spattered lines of gunshot fire</CENTER> <CENTER>That dotted and dashed each page entire</CENTER> <CENTER>Until on the page a Messerschmidt</CENTER> <CENTER>Was finally and firmly hit</CENTER> <CENTER>And fell in flames into the blue</CENTER> <CENTER>Of our crayon'd sea; we drew no crew.</CENTER><p> The second collection One Hundred Mood Studies contains a set of short stand-alone rhymed sonnets each expressing a modern-day emotional conflict. Exercises in the craft of formal writing these poems provide an outlet for everyday shifts in emotions.