EBOOK 47...and counting
Synopsis: 47 and Counting by Minka Wiltz
WITH ORIGINAL SKETCHES BY MINKA
47 and Counting is a collection of poetry from author Minka Wiltz. Written two weeks into her forty-seventh year, this debut book is a deeply personal journey through a life of love, pain, self-discovery, and healing.
The collection serves as a dedication to the many versions of the author—from the baby who learned to focus her eyes , to the teenager who believed in her mother's "rogue religiosity" , to the forty-year-old who finally learned to be loved and at peace. The poems reflect on the "bumps, bruises, scar tissue, and knowledge" gained across 46 years.
Through vivid and often raw verse, Wiltz explores various relationships and life stages:
- Love and Loss: Poems like "LOVE GOT ME INTO" detail a turbulent relationship, grappling with the blurred lines between passion and self-destruction. "MOMENTS" reflects on the transient nature of connection and the struggle for validation beyond another person.
- Family and Identity: The author directly addresses her family, including her children, Anjoli and Katrina, with reflections on the struggles of parenting and the complexities of motherly love. The book also includes verses dedicated to her parents, Mama Olivia and Daddy George.
- The Past and the Self: The poem "BIG MAMA" recounts a foundational childhood experience of love and security in a house that felt like home. A piece titled "TALENT" touches on the pressures of potential and the feeling of suffocation when a gift is ignored. Other poems, like "MARGIE," seem to reflect on an inner self, describing a young girl who is chubby, fair-skinned, talented, and afraid of the world.
Wiltz presents her writing as a "welcome solitude" and an exploration of "delectable worlds that unfold inside my head". Ultimately, 47 and Counting is a testament to resilience, written at a point in the author's life where she felt love towards herself for the very first time, and hopes her words can bring the same strength and healing to her readers.
