Book Review: Here It Comes…and It’s Gone

Reviewed by Elizabeth Zender

A contemplative collection of complex emotions and clever humor

I am a self-proclaimed poetry snob. I frequently turn my nose up at poems that aren’t just right. It is not often that I find a poetry collection that has something for everyone. Richard Sipe sets out to do just that in Here It Comes…and it’s Gone. Sipe explores history and emotion with humor. He explores time travel, death, and his own life experiences. One repeating motif is the whereabouts of the speaker when various individuals died; in these poems, we explore those details that stick with us when we experience something tragic. 

Sipe’s metacognitive poetry will strike a chord with contemplative readers. In my favorite poem from the collection, “Sans les Pantaloons,” we discover our speaker chasing a pantless poem who has escaped their home. The speaker explains that the poem had “no idea what it was about/to say, to reveal, or portend,” a relatable line that sticks out even after reading the collection. Sipe is open with readers about his thoughts on his own poetry, what it is capable of, and what it means to him. In my mind, this poem shows us what the collection is all about: poetry reveals things about us in ways we cannot foresee and once it is written, it refuses to be taken back.

Intermixed with the complex emotions attached to poems like “Sinking Herve,” which explores siblings and the ashes of their estranged father, there are poems with a less serious atmosphere, such as “Nihilistic Shape Poem II,” an X made of “NO,” or “Sinko de Mayo,” which you will have to see for yourself. Sipe cleverly implements imagery in his poems, both through description and actual photographs. Here It Comes…and it’s Gone is a reminder that literature is more than words on a page; you can make meaning out of a visual pun or use it to take a break from the “morphine drip of our being.” This collection contains Sipe’s thoughtful exploration of the vehicle through which poetry is delivered.

This collection is a quick read the first time and a smooth, slower read the second time around. I highly suggest a second read. Something new will stand out to you, lines will make more sense, or a similar experience will be made clear. If you are looking to add some thought-provoking and sometimes humorous poetry to your To Be Read list, make sure to check out Here It Comes…and it’s Gone.

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