An Opulent Tableau of Essence - Review by Martha A. Cheves, Author of Stir,
Laugh, Repeat and Think With Your Taste Buds

Reflections
(Sharon Hays, 2010)

Reflections from an antique mirror
A face I do not know
When I leaned closer in to see
It was not me, oh no
I examined the stranger closely
She stared right back at me
I gazed into the antique mirror
Our eyes locked decidedly
Could this be the face of a long-lost friend
So familiar, the face in the mirror
This cannot be the face of me
A face that I am not aware
I tried to imagine how time could steal
A face that was once my own, oh my
But when I leaned much closer in
I knew the face was I

"I have to say that I've done this myself more times than I want to admit. I've looked into the mirror and see not myself as I see myself in my mind's eye, but instead I see a face looking back at me that has developed lines and sags that simply can't be. I look at that face and see so many others. My mother's face is there, my dad's face is there and even my daughter's face. That just simply can't be me looking back at me. But of course it is.

Author Sharon Hays is known for her mystery books Mysteerie Manor and Mysteerie Manor II as well as her children books The Tumbleweed Family and Adventures of Sadie Ladybug. Hays has now ventured into the world of art and poetry.

The poem above is one of her own and one of my favorites within her book An Opulent Tableau of Essence. Her poem A Homage to Veterans Lost and Forgotten is simply beautiful as is Time of Change. And the art work that she's paired with her poetry is just as beautiful. A couple of my favorites being Clouded Sunset by Dana Gage and Pale Rider by Kerri Pestana. But in honesty, I love them all and would love to have them hanging in my own home so I could just sit and stare.

And Hays doesn't stop there. She actually gives a bio of each artists included within the book. Some local within the US and some as far away as India, Australia and even Uzbekistan. This is one book that when placed on the coffee table, will be picked up and not just thumbed through but read and enjoyed, time and time again.


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