The Waiting Room, Poems by Alissa Sammarco

The Waiting Room is a metaphor for life.  We are all sitting in this house or building, with many rooms, each room holding a part of the speaker’s life.  You might compare it to the “memory palace” concept where each memory is stored in a separate room, accessed as you wander through the house, unlocking some rooms, closing them again, and locking others.  The book is divided into five sections, each is a different aspect of what makes the speaker himself/ herself.  First is The Ancestors—parents, childhood memories, and how they affected the speaker.  The second is The Lovers—the spouse and the sensuality and lust and loss.  The third is The Lost—what happens when we lose relationships with family and lovers?  The fourth is The Children—hope and regret that all parents bear.  The finale is the Waiting Room—which speaks of the fear and isolation of illness, age and the end.  Of five parts, The Waiting Room touches you with tender and harsh moments, all as real as the narrative images which create them.

Sample Poems by Alissa Sammarco

“As you read The Waiting Room, keep in mind that what you are reading is only half of the story.  Alissa Sammarco has artistically concealed the other half behind a poetic translucent veil that must be lifted in order to fully experience the journey of life, both common and uncommon.  Entertaining and enlightening, these pages will simultaneously open both your heart and your mind.  You will recognize friends and relatives.  You will see strangers and your own reflection.  You will find yourself thinking “that’s me, that’s my story.”  Alissa Sammarco speaks your language, her concept, approach, understanding, and execution is unique and important.  In our busy world it is good to find the time to contemplate the past, the future, and the poetry that describes it.  Ultimately we are all sitting here together in The Waiting Room, this book is worth the wait.”—Joe Kidd Dr.hc; Michigan Beat Poet Laureate 2022-2024

“Wound with elegiac tension and a seeker’s questioning tones, The Waiting Room holds us inside that still ‘space between this world and the storm,’ where we must reconcile impacts of time and separation upon our vulnerable selves.  Sammarco’s vividly narrated poems follow that uncertain, looping quest for personal wellbeing, where daughter, mother, sister, or wife might emerge in a valiant ‘high dive from the end of a balance beam,’ or sink into ‘deep racking coughs’ that ‘writhe on the sidewalk like worms after the rain.’ This collection contemplates the murky currents of adaptive womanhood and remembrance with metaphorical deftness and lyrical intensity.”—Sherry Cook Stanforth, PhD; Managing Editor, Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel; Founder/Director, Originary Arts Initiative

“Authenticity.  Passion.  Integrity.  All of these, plus a solid dollop of style and craft, are found in Alissa Sammarco’s collection The Waiting Room, which burrows deep inside your mind and heart and soul to communicate profound images and stories of the ages of life and living, recognizing the movement from ancestors to the end.  Heartfelt, earnest, and beautifully expressed.  A worthy book for anyone’s collection.”—William F. DeVault, US National Beat Poet Emeritus, author of Qoheleth, liaison, EROica.

ISBN: 978-1625494788, 106 pages

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Also by Alissa Sammarco:

Beyond the Dawn

I See Them Now

Cupcake Day

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