Love, Lies and Lilies

Tlalane Manciya's debut book “Love, Lies and Lilies” is an engaging collection of poetry interspersed with meme-style quote snippets.

The collection is certainly a varied one. The poems touch on everything from romance and love to heartbreak and loss. The lovely poem “Float like a butterfly (The Ballerina”, which interprets the choreography and movements of a ballet dancer, juxtaposes strongly with the heartbreaking poem “My darkest night”, which provides an emotional account of a long night spent next to an unconscious loved one in a hospital bed. I enjoyed the darker poems more than the romantic ones that started off the book.

The standout piece of the collection was a vivid and vibrant poem called “Give me roses while I'm living”. The piece had great imagery and very reminiscent of Christina Rossetti's famous poem “Remember” in a way.

I really can't honestly say that I was 100% in love with the presentation. The inclusion of the meme-style quotes was unflattering to the author's content, which was so obviously heartfelt.