Penny Fleckenstein

Lessons in Love Penny Fleckenstein

The 72 poems in this book cover many types of love: for the author's three guide dogs, for her six children, for her parents and grandparents, for God and nature, for her many friends, and in a handful of light-hearted selections, for food.

The many romantic poems express love for both real people and dream lovers, for ideals yet unattained. One of the most humorous poems, "Beautiful Music," which is cleverly composed primarily of song titles, appears in this section.

The introductory paragraphs that appear before many of the poems are an unusual and moving feature. Most of them introduce the people described in the following poems; they provide a rich background, fleshing out the characters. Others tell more about the author's life, from babyhood on, their spare words providing a brief but poignant autobiography. The reader is left hoping that someday, the author might choose to write more fully on these very personal subjects.