The Orange Spotlight

Rough Travel by Jeffrey S. Callico (Graffiti-Kolkata July, 2010)

The latest collection from Jeffrey S. Callico is a brutally honest look at domestic life. It is a series of glimpse at how rough our travels through life can be, but it is also a look at how shallow these arguments and downturns can be. He captures the pinnacle of the moment, but does it in such a way that it removes the emotion.

"Finished my coffee early
Slammed the door
Against your anger

Heard your screams
Even from the car
I looked up at the window

Your face was a mouth
I saw your teeth
Glinting in the sun"

I think it is in the way he describes these scene that allow the reader to visualize them, but allows the reader to apply their own emotion to each one. What was the argument about? What was the scene after he left? The collection is filled these perfectly aligned little life puzzles. My favorite piece is the collection is "The History of Mechanical Motion". It trades off lines starting with "This is me" and "This is you" and it lists a series of scenes and thoughts that make up the gap between two people.

Rough Travel was published by Graffiti-Kolkata last month and is available for just $4.