Salomina Valentine

By Mr Ben Robinson

**Literary Critique: "Salomina Valentine" by Ben Robinson**

"Salomina Valentine" is a tender, haunted, and emotionally textured exploration of memory, grief, and enduring love. In this collection, Ben Robinson conjures a single presence-Salomina-as both muse and absence, tracing the contours of a relationship that has imprinted itself onto the speaker's emotional world. This is a book of longing, reverence, and the ache of remembrance.

**Themes and Motifs**

Love and loss are the dominant themes, but not in a generalized form. The poems suggest a personal history-Salomina as a figure both specific and archetypal. The speaker wrestles with memory, guilt, longing, and the impossibility of return. Recurring motifs include letters, candlelight, shadows, graves, perfumes, and handwritten notes-each contributing to the aura of romantic melancholy.

**Style and Structure**

The structure leans toward elegy, with each poem reading like a chapter in a fragmented love story. Robinson uses first-person narration to maintain intimacy and immediacy. The style is lyrical but controlled-emotional without sentimentality. Some poems are shaped like letters or journal entries, enhancing their confessional feel.

**Tone and Voice**

The tone is mournful, reverent, and deeply personal. The speaker writes as if to Salomina or through her. There is a ceremonial stillness to the voice, as though each word is chosen with care, afraid to disturb what is lost. But even amid sorrow, there is admiration and gratitude-love honored through grief.

**Imagery and Poetic Devices**

Imagery is romantic and ghostly. Salomina appears through objects, gestures, and traces-never directly, but always vividly felt. Robinson's use of sensory detail (scents, touches, sounds) deepens the emotional resonance. Symbolism-especially roses, clocks, light through curtains-amplifies the feeling of suspended time and undying attachment.

**Standout Poems**

- **"Salomina Valentine"**: The title piece is both lament and celebration, beautifully capturing the emotional heart of the collection.
- **"Your Scent Remained"**: A masterclass in sensory memory and poetic restraint.
- **"Unsent Letter"**: Devastating in its simplicity and truth.
- **"The Day We Said Nothing"**: A poem of silence that speaks volumes.

**Conclusion**

"Salomina Valentine" is a delicate and emotionally rich elegy. Ben Robinson constructs a powerful portrait of enduring love and spectral presence. This is poetry as remembrance, as devotion, as haunted tenderness. It is one of his most intimate and affecting works.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0BNG5J9N2
• ISBN13: 9798364624338
• Release Date: November 2022
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 74 Pages
• Weight: 0.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.1" x 5.5" x 8.5"