It’s hard to write after reading a book a poetry. I want the words to flow with beauty, grace, symmetry. But it doesn’t take long to realize just how difficult that really is. Which adds to my appreciation for the poet.

Paul Willis is a friend (click here for more about Paul and his family). He’s a gentle soul, in some ways the definitive English professor. Quiet, calm, thoughtful, slow to speak but quick to love, with a bashful smile that reveals a keen intellect.

A few years ago Paul wrote a little book of poetry that he titled The Deep and Secret Color of Ice. It’s only 25-pages long and contains short poems of stunning insight. I was recently given a copy, and though I’m slow to understand poetry and even slower to appreciate a poets talent, the book struck me as simply wonderful.

Perhaps it is all the non-fiction books that I read. Perhaps it’s the current events I stay on top of. Or perhaps it’s my own linear way of thinking. Whatever the cause, my brain appreciates the pragmatic value of writing but seldom embraces the beauty of the written word. In The Deep and Secret Color of Ice I was challenged to see differently. Poetry can do that to us; it makes us aware of the unknown. Or perhaps thoughtful of things we push aside.

However you feel about poetry — and I realize few people buy books of poetry — I think you’ll enjoy this little book. You can’t readily find it, but the Westmont College Bookstore has a few for sale at just $5. That’s a bargain because each page will make you pause and reflect.

As you read the poems you might feel a stab of awareness, a long suppressed sense of loss, an awareness of something wrong. But you will also feel the beauty and joy around you, resulting in a bashful smile that makes you realize just how talented Paul really is.