Dark and Light

By Sarah Bryant

This book of poetry is divided into two sections, Dark and Light. The Dark section contains 21 powerful poems, tackling some very hard hitting issues such as child abuse, domestic violence, suicide, post traumatic stress disorder and depression, along with poems about relationship breakdowns, loss of loved ones, including pets. Although my Dark poems can be very sad, I hope they will also be inspirational, proof that you are not alone in your plight.

The second section, Light, contains 25 far more uplifting and inspirational poetry to make you smile or maybe even laugh, which you may need after reading the Dark section! There is also a bonus poem at the end which is called Childhood Dreams, which was entered into a contest but is very very long!
This book also tells you a little bit about me as there are some biographical poems in there too.

I hope my poetry reaches people in need of hope and reassurance that their life can change. Often, fear of the unknown holds us back, but is in fact much worse than the reality of change. Be brave, fight the battles and move on to a better life! Life is balanced and I try to reflect that in my book!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sarah Bryant
• Release date: Dec 2, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311868251

Sarah Bryant

I have suffered with depression for most of my life. The lack of concentration and confidence associated with depression has affected my life in a big way and I fight it on a daily basis. Like many others, I have often wondered why life has been so cruel to me, why did I have to go through certain situations and circumstances Why me? I believe the answer is because without those experiences, you cannot fully understand and empathise with others. I started jotting down poems by hand in a book after a relationship break up in June 2015. I set up a Facebook page in August called Just Poetry and started to post my poems and was amazed at the response. I have received the most heartbreaking messages from both women and men going through depression, domestic violence and child abuse and my poetry helped some recognise their situation and get help. I am proud to have helped people through my poetry and hope to continue. I have always been a compassionate and understanding person and I hope my poetry continues to reach people in need of hope and reassurance that their life can change. Often, fear of the unknown holds us back, but is in fact much worse than the reality of change. Be brave, fight the battles and move on to a better life! I decided to title my first book Dark and Light, and place my poems into the two sections, so it ends on a happier note with uplifting poems. Life is balanced and I try to reflect this in the book. I hope you enjoy reading and can relate to a few of my poems! Sarah Bryant

Book preview

DARK AND LIGHT

A BOOK OF POETRY

A SELECTION OF POEMS BY SARAH BRYANT

DARK AND LIGHT

Copyright © 2015 by SARAH BRYANT

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

A SIN (B017Z4LOIK)

Dedications

I would like to dedicate this book to Daniel, my inspiration to start writing poetry!

I would also like to thank all the other people in my life who have encouraged me to write and finally publish a book, a lifetime dream for me always having loved writing. My best friend Daphne, who has always been there to cheer me on. My friend Bill (Possibly my No 1 fan) and all the people on my Facebook page Just Poetry who have liked and shared my poems, sometimes with very emotional and heartbreaking comments.

I would especially like to thank my sons who kept things going enabling me to escape for inspiration!

Lastly, I would like to thank the Marques family, for making me feel so welcome, teaching me Portuguese, to eat fish and giving me the peace and quiet I needed in order to focus on my writing.

Preface

I am a single mother with three grown up sons and five granddaughters. I have always loved to write and dreamed of being a published author but never found the time to concentrate fully on my aspirations.

I have suffered with depression for most of my life. The lack of concentration and confidence associated with depression has affected my life in a big way and I fight it on a daily basis. Like many others, I have often wondered why life has been so cruel to me, why did I have to go through certain situations and circumstances Why me? I believe the answer is because without those experiences, you cannot fully understand and empathise with others.

I started jotting down poems by hand in a book after a relationship break up in June 2015. I set up a Facebook page in August called Just Poetry and started to post my poems and was amazed at the response. I have received the most heartbreaking messages from both women and men going through depression, domestic violence and child abuse and my poetry helped some recognise their situation and get help. I am proud to have helped people through my poetry and hope to continue. I have always been a compassionate and understanding person and I hope my poetry continues to reach people in need of hope and reassurance that their life can change. Often, fear of the unknown holds us back, but is in fact much worse than the reality of change. Be brave, fight the battles and move on to a better life!

I decided to title this book Dark and Light, and place my poems into the two sections, so it ends on a happier note with uplifting poems.

Life is balanced and I try to reflect this in the book.

I hope you enjoy reading and can relate to a few of my poems!

Sarah Bryant

DARK

FOOLISH

I opened my heart

A heart without walls

Fragile and weak

Tired and damaged

I bared my soul

My past, my fears

My ghosts.

We shared, laughed and kissed

Together we danced

Like children without cares

In the rain

Under the stars I was hypnotised

Your sensual mouth

Words softly spoken

Securely penned for eternity

With meaning and with truth

Kind, affectionate, sweet and pure

We loved and made love

Do you remember?

Your sensual red lips brushed mine

Your kisses so passionate

Your smile, radiating the universe, converting dark to light

And your eyes

Oh God, your eyes

Penetrate me, sparkling like diamonds

We were alive, happy, together

Just us

Smiles now forgotten, tears in their place

Your sensual red lips now speak venom, hate and

Reviews for Dark and Light

[lynnb_64 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the story of George Webb, failed police officer turned private detective. His life has been turned around by one case: the murder of Mr. Nash by his wife. Mrs. Nash hired George to follow her husband, who was cheating on her. George was drawn to her, and two years later, is still totally wrapped up in her life. Graham Swift has done an outstanding job of painting a picture of George: his personality, hopes, fears and longings. The book takes place over a single day, but with flashbacks to cover George's life. The writing is fast-paced, even though this is primarily a character study. It definitely made me want to read more by this author.

[samsheep_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I gave this four stars because....I was engaged, I liked it, I kept reading, some beautiful turns of phrase, some interesting characters. It had the quality feel to it. BUT sometimes it dragged - he really spun it out a bit too much, the pacing not quite what it could be. Also a silly small thing that really grated on me - the way that he used "sweetheart" a lot when speaking to her in prison. Somehow jarred with the rest of it.

[adrianburke_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

No. I cannot get on with this. Reading it is like listening to two radio stations at the same time. Two much cross interference. And really I feel the complication is all to do with the method of telling rather than anything else. One long fragmented flashback is intercut into a boring car trip. Did not finish. Life being too short.

[coyote99_1 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

What an awful book. Mesmerized by his own words, Swift manages to spin ever slower circles around events we already know happen with needless jumps forward and backward. Early on he decides that his tale has so little merit that his only chance is to make his narrative so confusing that the reader may mistake obfuscation for brilliance. A complete waste of time.

[booklistener · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have mixed feelings on this book. Author painted a very convincing picture and the imagery sticks with me. On the other hand, it did seem the story moved excruciatingly slowly at times. He would dwell for a long time on the mood of a scene and then, almost in passing, mention key plot details.

[sanddancer_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing! It plays with the conventions of the detective story and romance. We find out almost immediately who committed the crime, and the rest of the book is about piecing together the events that led up to it, all seen from the point of view of a detective, who has fallen in love with the murderer. That summary doesn't really do it justice. It is about relationships, secrets and love - all big themes, but it is beautifully written and griping.

[gocam_4 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Moderately more engaging than watching a slow paint dry, the book nonetheless explodes very occasionally with flashes of incendiary writing. 'Light of Day' indulges for most of its length in endless, insistent, circular, inevitable, here-again/there-again repetition surrounding a violent act that puzzles and initially intrigues and the back story detailing how our private detective protagonist ended up 'the man he is' - using a series of flash-back and -forward sequences we are led through a life that collides in a conclusion that should satisfy but rather stultifies . The form does tend to pull Webb's plight and life arc into tight focus, but honestly neither make for particularly engaging reading. As a treatment of a slow-burning drift into insular obsession the novel succeeds in generating a modicum of sympathy, but little more. Swift can write tremendously compelling almost poetic sequences (particularly when detailing the relationship with his daughter, and a cop whom he faces as nemesis then acquaintance), but they are buried deep in far too many words describing far too slight of a narrative where, frankly, there is little to care about. In reading this book I found myself at one point reminded of the power of selective repitition in Edwin Morgan's "In the Snack Bar" - a poem that achieves more in a few hundred words than this novel does in its entirety. Disappointing as I had high expectations after a punchy opening chapter, and having enjoyed "Last Orders".

[cliffagogo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Ex-cop and private detective George Webb reflects on his past and revisits his old relationships, to find meaning in recent tragic events. The author’s knack for readable, believable dialogue makes for a compelling, addictive novel that pleases from start to finish. This, mixed with an incredible sense of structure and atmosphere, places Swift head and shoulders above the competition.

[piefuchs · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A good book that failed to live up to the high expectation I had developed for this author based upon Last Orders.