One of my favorite collections of poetry is Pablo Neruda’s 20 LOVE POEMS AND A SONG OF DESPAIR. Simple and precise, manages an amazing intimacy with seemingly little effort. Maybe I love it partly because of it’s singlemindedness, focused intensity on what it was trying to say. Each poem exhibiting a clarity of revelation. And I was young when I read it, when the discovery of poetry is almost as moving as the poetry itself. Because of this, perhaps my expectations for THE CAPTAIN’S VERSES were unfair. I can’t know, but here we are. THE CAPTAIN’S VERSES contains a handful of superlative poems {including YOUR LAUGHTER, IF YOU FORGET ME, LETTER ON THE ROAD} but also a sprinkle I just couldn’t latch on to, even after multiple starts, I simply resolved to look for a few lines of beauty. Not every voice can be heard, and that might be on me. I appreciate that Neruda is going for a broader spectrum—our love is not to be considered as an isolated thing but as part of the world we live in. Start with 20 LOVE POEMS and then drop by here. ( )