A collection that will tug on heartstrings while leaving readers with a sense of longing.
A progressive story told in unpretentious verse, Loving Strays by Franco Cardiello is a collection of poems that explores life’s tempestuous journey with a grain of salt, a dose of truth, and the benefit of self-reflection. Divided into cleverly named sections, each group has a unique mood and demonstrates marks of personal growth. The opening poem lays everything on the line, offering a peek into the insightful heart responsible for crafting this collection. Here, a toxic cycle of sexual abuse, psych wards, broken homes, and jail cells set the pace on a path toward love. The third section, Awkward glimpse, is a leap forward, where basic needs are no longer a focus, but the quest for meaningful companionship takes center stage. Later poems touch on loss in its various iterations, how we view personal growth, and the changing seasons and stages of life. Though our backgrounds may differ, audiences of all sorts will find a resonant voice in Franco Cardiello.
Casual readers might appreciate the book’s unclouded sentiment, although deeper meaning is certainly available upon closer inspection. For example, “We cannot handcuff the hands of time.” This powerful expression is meaningful at a glance, but becomes increasingly significant as we age. Observant and sharp throughout, the author contemplates the blissful haze of being “under the influence of marijuana / surviving under the influence of adolescence” and contrasts these stolen moments with “the noisy scary places we came from / unsupervised kids crushed under the cruelty of life.” Understated and sincere, Loving Strays tackles many aspects of love without heavy affectation. There is a generous dose of reality in Her Pet Name Was Sexy Flower as the author reflects on a hoped-for scene of chivalry. “I tossed pebbles at her bedroom window but no lights ever turned on / all the hoopla for nothing yeah, that’s romance, huh / often anticlimactic as are most things in life.” The poem closes with a pit-in-the-stomach drive back to an ominous treatment center, creating a discomfiting conclusion while maintaining movement and a sense of constant transformation.
Nothing is left to the imagination as the author reveals candid thoughts, deep musings, and embarrassing moments. Diverse in composition, these punchy poems are brimming with personal woes, internal maturation, sadness, and regret, but are united in the persistent search for security in love. A mellifluous blend of melancholy and anticipation, Loving Strays is a collection that will tug on heartstrings while leaving readers with a sense of longing.
