A look at Carolynn Kingyens’ bright and brilliant poetry collection, Coupling….
by: Sharon Waller Knutson
In Coupling, Carolynn Kingyens’ second poetry collection published by Kelsay Books, she proves her talent for reaching into the depths of her soul and enlightening readers about love, loss, and regret with thirty heartwarming and heartbreaking poems. Kingyens isn’t afraid to speak the truth, be it beautiful or ugly.
Her characters are complex, real human beings with all the wrinkles and warts that comes with living a full life.
The wise title poem “Coupling” shows how couples see things differently:
His truth:
….you knew I was the woman
you were destined to marry
the moment you saw me
in your doorway…”
Her truth:
….You had no interest
in wanting to marry me…
I was ripe, hot,
willing to please —
not yet the bitch
you would later marry.”
The powerful poem “In Sickness” explores the conflict of staying true to marriage vows when one spouse descends into madness.
“I know a good man
still in love with his
dementia-suffering wife
even after she’d hurl insults
from a mouth on fire,
thinking he was
her dead father
who once dropped
her farm kittens
one by one
inside a pillowcase,
tied a tight knot,
before casually tossing
the crying, moving bag
into the backyard pond.”
Like many of the poems, the powerful “Shadow & Light” pits evil versus good.
Shadow
He once called her
his better half —
before the arrival
of children,
the car payments,
and bankruptcy,
before the sex addiction,
the mistress,
and murder
in the middle of the night…”
Light
“Or how that rookie cop,
the son of a veteran,
delivered a baby boy
in the backseat
of a beat-up Buick,
outside Vegas,
gently placing the
wet screaming newborn
inside the warmth
of his coat
before bringing him
close to his heart.”
The poignant poem, “Vacation Bible School,” illustrates that religion in childhood doesn’t necessarily prepare us for the challenges of adulthood.
“We drank Jim Jones-colored
punch and ate no-frills
butter cookies;
finger painted Noah
and his rescued animals…
“Years later, Timmy Ainsley
would shoot himself in the mouth…
And I heard little Regina
Hopely, Bethel’s Christmas
Pageant Mary
became a meth addict…”
Kingyens shows her sense of humor in “Elephants,” a clever charming satire on life.
“To get along
in certain circles
sometimes meant
living with elephants.
The smart ones
carried peanuts
inside their pockets.
I was not one
of the smart ones.”
She ends the book with “Leaving,” a sparse poem about the end of a relationship.
“First you hear the sound
of a zipper zipping…
…then you listen for
the jingling of keys
and somewhere a door
is closing.”
After I finished the book, I read it over and over, not wanting my time with this talented poet and friend to end.
Grab a copy of Coupling here!
Sharon Waller Knutson is a retired journalist who lives in Arizona. She has published several poetry books including My Grandmother Smokes Chesterfields (Flutter Press 2014) and What the Clairvoyant Doesn’t Say and Trials & Tribulations of Sports Bob (Kelsay Books 2021.). Her work has also appeared in Trouvaille, One Art, Mad Swirl, The Drabble,, Gleam,, Spillwords, Muddy River Review, Verse-Virtual, Your Daily Poem, Red Eft Review, The Five-Three and The Song Is…
A good poet. A really good poet. Writers who can achieve intimacy with readers are the gifted ones. Kingyens’ poetry is practical, accessible yet profound. Good work amigos!