A Book Review of Pen Muses a compilation of 60 poems by Sarika Jaswani (reviewed by Mashaal Sajid)

Pen Muses

Pen Muses is a compilation of 60 Poems by Poet and Artist Sarika Jaswani. Known for her ArtInCrochet nonprofit and fundraising for various underprivileged schools around the world,
Sarika is a certified crochet instructor and art tutor. She has authored original children’s stories in the series ‘Life is Magical’ to go with crochet toys in her shop. Her books are available at
Kindle and BN.com. Sarika’s poetry has been published on The “Tide Rises, The Tide Falls”, “A Cornered Gurl Publication”, and “Fevers Of The Mind

This is an emotive and relatable collection of poems on a diverse range of topics from love, grief, heartache, and sorrow to desire, hope and personal reflections on the complexities of time
and human emotions. Abound with imagery from the natural world and an empathetic poetic voice, these Poems have a soothing effect on the reader. They create a meditative and calm atmosphere replete with internal reflections and familiar emotions expressed in exquisite
language.

Some of my favorites were Aroha, An Empty Page, Limoncello Elder, Sculpture and Seven. Aroha is about separateness in relationships and love thriving despite superficial barriers.

“Willful
I shun the stigma of aging suns”

An Empty Page is about the creative process, this poem has a beautiful visual pattern that heightens/elevates the poems liquid atmosphere composed of language like: barbel, wet weight
and currency of liquid. Limoncello is a melodramatic poem about the passing of time, love and loss. Sculpture is ripe with desire and desperation and uses passionate language to express
these emotions:

“Forge me in your love
My engraver-
I’ll be a bearer of your name”
Seven is another love poem, this one is on a lighter and happy note and sings the lover’s praise.

The Collection consists of a few ekphrastic poems paired with alluring photography such as Skyline, Dark Moon and The Woods. Quite a few verses captured my heart with their poignant
visual imagery of nature and others with their poetic brilliance, some of these phrases were:
“Dog-eared leaf/ with your initials/ stays mint in my elegy”, “In each vein fold of pigeon-heart petal of Chrysanthemum”, “I wear your sepia blemish/ at each vex of moon”, “allium of her life
stems in gospel truths”, “I fill each grain/ in spores of your spell”, and “I want to steal your sun/
off orchards/ be an apple to/ bathe in your sunshine”.

I was grateful for the opportunity to read and review Pen Muses. The collection has a lot of potential, the love poems are heartwarming and accessible and would make a beautiful gift to
share with someone you love or want to express your feelings to. The collection makes a light-hearted read you can enjoy and delve in at leisure, it leaves you contemplating the
bittersweetness of love, time and memory.

Brief Bio:
Crochet artist, art tutor, writer of children's stories, philanthropist. Poet. Dabbles in poetry, reading,
and writing. Art lover. Bird lover. Dreamer and blogger. Poetry published at The Tide Rises, The
Tide Falls, also on Medium @ACG.

Sarika Jaswani, under the pen name ArtInCrochet, is a decade old non-profit donating hats and
scarves to orphanages and shelter homes. She has done fundraising from 2016 through sales of handmade crochet items for kids in need. She is a certified crochet instructor from The American Craft Council. She has conducted classes at Alpharetta Main Branch Library, Art Center Alpharetta, and Michael's Community Classroom Alpharetta Georgia. Funds raised through her teaching crochet art are used to donate books to various underprivileged schools around the
world. She has authored original children's stories in the series 'Life is Magical' to go with the crochet toys in her shop. Her books are available as Nook Books on BN.com and Amazon
Kindle. Her Etsy page: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ArtInCrochet
Sarika is a passionate poetry reader and writer. Her Poetry is published on:
The Tide Rises, The Tide Falls.
Online Literary Journal
Featured in Fever Of The Mind
A Cornered Gurl publication on Medium
https://link.medium.com/LFnXDnZTGdb

Wolfpack Contributor: Sarika Jaswani

A Fevers of the Mind Quick-9 Interview with Sarika Jaswani (artincrochet)

Bio: Doctor by profession. I'm a Crochet Artist, Art Tutor Writer of Children's Stories, Philanthropist. Poet. Published. Passionately reads & writes poetry. Art Lover. Bird lover. Dreamer and blogger.Published on 'Tide Rises Tide Falls' & on Medium with A Cornered Gurl @ACG @Scittura 

Fevers of the Mind Poetry on WordPress
Silver Birch Press
The Organic Poets 
A frequent VSS prompt writer on twitter
My poems run on theme of love, reflection and philosophy of life.

ArtinCrochet on Twitter @sarikajaswani

Book Review by Wolfpack Contributor Bio: Mashaal Sajid