Bouncy House by Michael Estabrook

Michael Estabrook

Bouncy House

by Michael Estabrook

Green Zone Editions

Copyright © Michael Estabrook

softbound, no price given

Review by Zvi A. Sesling

This poem in the middle of Michael Estabrook’s new poetry chapbook made me laugh when it should not have, which is a positive indicator of his poetry.

The Boston Strangler

I’m at my desk at work

finishing up a poem about frogs

(everything in my life ends up

in a poem it’s a sad yes

but what can you do?)

when one of my co-workers

sticks his shiny bald head

into my office and says

“hey I heard this great joke

on TV last night about a frog…”

of course I’m stunned by the coincidence

but can’t say anything about it

because nobody at work knows

I’m a poet when I’m not at work

like the Boston Strangler was a strangler

when he wasn’t driving a cab

I get how Estabrook thinks. Some of these poems are nostalgic and other humorous. Each is based on something in his experience. The poem “Flashback” for example begins with a young engineer explaining something that reminds Estabrook of his father in a kind, warm way, while in “Bigfoot” there are a dozen other names for the legendary character and Estabrook writes from Bigfoot’s perspective.

Then there is his poem “Peter Sellers” which speaks for itself:

When I woke this morning

I was surprised to see how much

my wife looked like Peter Sellers.

Maybe it was the way her nose

came out from her face

or the way her hair lay flat against

the side of her head or maybe

it was because the light

was so dim. I’m not certain

but I was worried because I know

peter Sellers is dead.

Okay I’m not supposed to laugh at this one either, but couldn’t help myself because

if anything, Michael Estabrook has a terrific sense of humor which he is able, unlike

many poets, to make leap off the page and slap you silly.

He has also written one about himself, his grandchildren, earlobes, feeding ducks, eating lobster rolls and a number of other subjects any reader can breeze through and enjoy – hopefully as much as I did.

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Zvi A. Sesling is author of King of the Jungle (Ibbetson Street, 2010), Across Stones of Bad Dreams (Cervena Barva, 2011) and the soon to be published Fire Tongue (Cervena Barva). He is Editor of Muddy River Poetry Review, Bagel Bards Anthologies #7 and #8.

He regularly reviews for the Boston Small Press and Poetry Scene