Book review… An Ode to Life

Aug 11, 2019 Book Review…

Book: Sailing Into The Sunset
Author: Uriel Narinesingh
Critic: Glenville Ashby

‘Sailing into the Sunset’ is an ode to life. Poet Uriel Narinesingh is ever poised in the face of life’s most bristling challenge. How do we respond when death comes knocking? Are we impregnable to fear and doubt? Narinesingh’s revelations are insightful. Her writings invite us to accompany her, if only for a moment, on a road we all must travel.
Moreover, from her work we are more enlightened, more attuned to life’s most incalculable mystery.
In a tortured reality, seemingly insufferable, rays of hope shine through. Like Biblical Job, Narinesingh remains steely and undaunted as the bell tolls. A divine meed awaits her. Still, she displays some apprehension; after all, she is only human.
‘O Night,’ mirrors ‘Dark Night of the Soul’ by John of the Cross. Narinesingh prays for comfort and strength as she faces the unknown. “I stand before you…overawed by your deep stillness. Speak to me, embrace me in your mighty heart, let no earthly dross engulf me on my journey to eternity.”
Arguably, ‘Destiny Unknown’ towers over other offerings. It invites discourse on the most enigmatic of philosophical inquiries – that of predestination and the human will. Its provocative words veer into existentialism and finally eschatology.
In these discursive narratives, we do not find definitive answers, but we garner wisdom from the writer’s humility and knowledge.
In her contemplation, Narinesingh faces transition with quiet expectancy. Death is not final. Nature teaches that incontrovertible truth.
She writes, “I heard the wind in the trees and saw the leaves float on its wings to distant shores. Will they alight on the crest of a wave and be swallowed by the mighty ocean and be lost forever…Their destiny nor mine, I know not.”
What, then, awaits us in the hereafter? No one knows. But, the wise among us have left behind instructional lessons. Essentially, they say, life continues.
In the ever timely, ‘Hope,’ Narinesingh, now counted among the wise, writes, “Tomorrow, out of the dark womb of night shall a new dawn arise, sprinkling its light upon all nature, converting the earth with its fiery mask. How wonderful are the Hands that created a world of beauty, marvelous and stunning to those touched by its cadence.”
Roma Sinanan, the poet’s sister, prefaces ‘Sailing into the Sunset’ with a stirring hagiography. In her encomium she pens, “These poems which we have inherited, we offer to you – borne from the purest of her rare thoughts and feelings. They bear a semblance of her grace, her purity, her all-engaging trust into the heart of Nature and her passionate love for humanity.”
Sinanan’s words ring true.
And there is a gilded tribute by Hazel Sinanan, her finely crafted words punctuating her aunt’s lasting contribution to humanity. With palpable feeling, she writes, “What creative tune you strike…Draw to feed those who thirst the music of your silent soul…What a fragrance you exhale? Sweet musk roses your frame repose…Petals tinctured with love’s stain…The elixir of your silent soul.”
As a writer and philosopher, Narinesingh is measured and subtle, but from our slumber she awakens us; such is the unmistakable authenticity to her every word. As a teacher, her greatest lesson is her exemplary life.
In ‘Dedicated to Teachers,’ we see ourselves as the very “seed” she eloquently describes – “You were the gardener, I the seed, with a heart free and generous you stood among the flowers, where seeds of knowledge you kindly showered. Today, these blossoms glow, their fragrances fill the land nurtured in love, mounded by your gentle hands.”
Indeed, ‘Sailing into the Sunset’ is a work of aesthetic significance. Written with grace and poise, it is the unfailing revelation of an old soul, a teacher from whose pen we garner the keys to lasting happiness.

Feedback: glenvilleashby@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @glenvilleashby
Sailing Into the Sunset – Poems by Uriel Narinesingh & Tributes
Royards Publishing Company, Macoya, Trinidad
Email: royards@aol.com
Ratings: Highly recommended

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper)

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