What Took You So Long: Poems for People in Love

Poetry is one of those amorphous terms that falls under the “I know it when I see it” category of classification. It can rhyme or not, it can be long or short, metered or unmetered, scattered across the page or written like prose. But the one thing that unifies all poetry is the emotional core that suffuses every word.

That core is alive and well in What Took You So Long, Neville Johnson’s collection of poetry. Each and every poem was originally penned for his wife, but he believes anyone in love can find something for themselves in these pages.

There’s something curiously voyeuristic about this, as if I’m peeking in on private romantic moments that were only meant for two. There’s an intimacy here that’s tangible, which I suppose makes Johnson’s willingness to share them with the world all the more brave and unexpected. You’re not meant to ponder just who is the sun in his sky, his everything, his only one, his American queen.

And although some of these poems are little too cutesy-poo for my taste–“we are hip as in hooray”–there are indeed a few pieces that resonated with me.