Poetry Book Review:
See What I See

By Susie McCray

Susie McCray has lived a life of pain. And joy. And she's captured it all in her debut book of poems See What I See. That's the problem. We learn more than we should.

McCray's bare all tales of drugs, sex, and brokenness don't leave much for the imagination. Her raw language might be a turn off for some people - she'd make a gang of rappers blush - but that's not the worst of her talents. The poetry just isn't well written.

See What I See is only 51 pages long, but it's 51 pages too many. Segmented into 7 sections, which illustrates her unique and not half-bad organizational skills at least, the book contains 36 poems and it would be difficult to say which one is the best. I didn't like any of them.

Her sections are titled:

• Lovers & Friends
• Family Ties
• Motivation
• Dealing With Authority
• Love Gone Astray
• Longing
• Slutty, Whorish Ways

These titles are perhaps the best writing McCray does. Her rhymes are atrocious and her line rhythms are almost as bad, though her subject matter should make for great poetry. Lest you think I'm too harsh, here's a sampling of her work:

When I look into your eyes
I seem to get hypnotized
When I look at your soft lips,
I can't help but to wish
For a long lasting kiss
When I touch your hand
I think "yes, this my man"
When I touch your fingertips,
I can't in a million years deny
That I long for a caress…inside
When you hug me so close
That's when I want you most
When you press your lips to my cheek
I wish for your mouth upon my mouth
I can't help but to want you right now
When I hear your voice on the phone
I can't wait for you to be home
When I hear your voice in my dreams
I feel that you are already here…
In my arms and heart, ever so near

That's about as good as it gets. The poem is indicative of the sentimentalism throughout See What I See, though some of it is much worse. Perhaps the best poem in See What I See is "My Poppi" with it's sloppily crafted four lines:

My dad is a loving man, but he's not a push over
     My father's a hard man, but he's also gentle
My daddy is a good teacher, but is open to learn from his kids
     My poppi is my friend, I couldn't ask for a better one

See What I See is a collection of simple poems. Some people may find them worth reading, but Susie McCray won't be winning any awards with this one.

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See What I See by Susie McCray
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