Love is a driving force
Photo by joel herzog on Unsplash
A review of A Brief Gazelle by Mike Maggio
Writer and literary activist Mike Maggio is a long-time fixture in the DMV literary community. In addition to his six poetry collections, he has published several works of fiction and maintains a blog in which he reviews, promotes, and publishes the work of other writers, along with news of his own. The latter exemplifies his generosity toward other writers and the community at large. As my co-editor Norah Vawter put in her 2019 interview with Mike, “[W]hat really sets Maggio apart—and what, I think, makes his prolific creativity possible and his work so full of energy and life—is a spirit of collaboration and an intense devotion to our local writing community.”
This communitarian spirit has produced, among other things, many poems on social justice and political themes. So it’s fascinating to open A Brief Gazelle and find poems of a much more personal nature, though even here the role of love in the lives of everyone and its effects—both positive and negative—are thoroughly explored. A tiny lyric at the beginning of the book depicts love as a beautiful, shy animal that appears and then flees:
“The brief gazelle
flutters her tawny tail
and then spirits away.”
These eleven words are packed with hints of what is to come in the book. The brevity and elusiveness of love, the trepidation with which we often experience it, even multiple meanings of the word “spirits” are all invoked in these poems.
The intertwined themes of the book are invoked in the subtitle, Poems of Love and Grief, though the poet explores a much wider range of emotions as he takes us through many experiences of love.
In "Introduction," a poem—really a set of aphorisms—that formally opens the book, the poet lists a number of the varied, sometimes contradictory aspects of love:
“Love is a driving force in the human experience. Or perhaps, the
driving force….
We long for love./We are overpowered when it arrives.//We pine in its absence….
Still, we grieve./An emotion just as strong as love./Maybe even stronger.”
These shifting experiences of love are depicted throughout the collection.
For example, the initial joyous anticipation:
“In the beginning, there was love
coy as a crocus.
In the beginning, angels came
with heralds soft and sweet.”
Followed by the seemingly inevitable disillusion:
“Then came autumn, and all the flowers faded
and springtime shed its golden glow.”
(“Angels”)
Or the desire and sense of mystery sparked by the sight of a beautiful stranger:
“Gold against gold
gold against ebony
ebony with no trace of blue
limned upon your languid lips….
You smile, Lady.
Lady, you command your command,
radiant, and those beside you
pay mute homage
attend to your languorous grace
as this train reaches its destiny
in a mystical kingdom
that none but you may ever find.”
(“Woman With Golden Hair”)
This poem to my taste is marred by such archaic language as “Lady,” "limned, and “mystical kingdom,” a rare misstep in this volume that generally uses modern language to express timeless themes.
In "Truth Is,” the tome becomes more personal, as the poet expresses the sometimes fickle nature of romantic love.
“truth is
i forget i love you
sometimes….
truth is
i forget to love
i forget
that moment
un jour
habibati
mi’ amore
when at first
at last
i knew”
The use of French, Arabic (“habibati” means “my beloved”), and Italian reflects the poet’s many years spent living and traveling overseas, and adds a cosmopolitan dimension to the work.
Another poem reflective of Maggio’s time in the Middle East also brings in a different form of love, that between friends:
“What I remember the most
is you in your black and white suit
tending tables at Amigo Nabeel’s.
Zamfir’s flute would sigh through the evening
and I would sit
the lonesome shepherd
breaking goat’s cheese
and drinking Palestinian wine.
Your strength was the way you laughed
even at the worst turns of time.
My weakness was the way I believed
the one I loved would keep
her solemn, whispered words.”
(“Zamfir’s Flute”)
Occasionally an unlikely yet striking metaphor appears:
“This message will be repeated.
Love is biodegradable.”
(“Biodegradeable”)
And then this burst of pure lyricism (quoted in full):
Once
My love—
if I
could stretch
the night
sky would
be in-
finite for you.
You promise to return the next evening.
Life is too short.
It’s been like this for an eternity now.
The sun is burning a hole in my door.”
In fact, a pronounced lyricism pervades the entire collection, even as Maggio explores the varieties of sexual, romantic, and Platonic love both aphoristically and personally. I’ve tried to provide some samples but the range herein is wide. Order A Brief Gazelle and see for yourself.
Mike Maggio is the author of 10 books including poetry and fiction. In 2025, he published two books: Woman in the Abbey, a gothic novel issued by Vine Leaves Press which won the Literary Titan Gold Book Award, and A Brief Gazelle, issued by San Francisco Bay Press. His poetry collection, Let’s Call It Paradise (San Francisco Bay Press, 2022) won the International Book Award for Contemporary Poetry in 2023. He also serves as an associate editor for Potomac Review and writes book reviews for Washington Independent Review of Books. He has translated both Arabic and Italian poetry.
Gregory Luce is the co-founder and poetry editor of Washington Unbound. He has published six chapbooks. He lives in Arlington and serves as Poetry Editor of The Mid-Atlantic Review and writes a monthly column for the online arts journal Scene4.