Poetry is Cool By Joe Lyon In Poetry is Cool , Joe Lyon invites readers into the raw, intimate depths of his life, expressed through nearly 50 years of poetry and lyrics. Spanning themes of love, loss, time, and reflection, this collection of poems offers a deeply personal journey through the emotional landscapes that have shaped Lyon’s experience of the world. In poems like "We Got Time," Lyon captures the quiet moments of life, urging us to slow down, to savor the presence of loved ones, and to recognize the gift of time. The gentle imagery of resting by the fire, the snow piling up outside, and the comfort of being with someone dear reminds us that sometimes the only place we need to be is right beside the people we love. "All I ever wanted, all I ever needed," he writes, "is right by your side." Yet, not all of Lyon’s poetry is soft and tender. In "Storm Clouds Coming," the tone shifts, as he explores the darker side of emotion—the inner storms we all face. Lyon paints a vivid picture of a mind overwhelmed, searching for escape from the madness, unable to rise above the feelings that darken the soul. The storm clouds become a powerful metaphor for the inner turmoil, reflecting the moments in life where peace seems just out of reach. In Poetry is Cool , Lyon’s words flow between the joy of love found and the weight of loss, from the peaceful moments where time feels endless to the frantic urgency of a life on the edge. His poems, like "So Far From My Home," explore the pain of separation, while others, like "A Thousand Dreams," speak to the beauty of possibility. This collection is more than just poetry—it’s a chronicle of a life lived fully, with all its ups and downs. Lyon’s words invite readers to reflect on their own journeys, to pause in the midst of life’s chaos, and to find comfort in the simple truth that, for better or worse, we’ve all got time. KIRKUS REVIEWS: Poetry is Cool by Joe Lyon Love, death, and more of life’s big topics get a lyrical treatment in this autobiographical book of rhymes. Not all of us grow up to be rock stars, but many of us have dreamed of becoming one. At a tender age, we may have filled notebooks with rhyming refrains inspired by those of our favorite artists on the radio—ones that lean on familiar rhymes like “heart” and “apart,” “sad” and “mad.” Without an instrument to accompany those refrains, they could even be called poems. Lyon has done just that. His collection of original song lyrics runs a gamut of topics, from childhood memories to romantic and familial love to war and death—plus two inexplicable odes to frogs. “When I was here, I had a voice, a mind, and a thought or two, but most of all, I could feel,” the author writes by way of introduction. “And what I could feel, I could mostly express, in song.” While the lyrics are meant to convey personal moments from the author’s life, their generic platitudes could apply to just about anyone, not unlike pop songs. Unique details from Lyon’s life are found instead in photographs interspersed throughout the book. Readers have to do a fair share of guesswork to draw parallels between those photos and their accompanying songs (which, to the author’s credit, read as fairly catchy). In “Respectable Lady,” a lyric that follows a photo of the author’s three sisters, the speaker rhapsodizes, “She can melt my heart with one look into my eye / Let me tell you something about my lady / She’s respectable / Respectable Lady.” Lyon’s lust for life and rhymes is undeniably touching, but readers won’t encounter anything here that they couldn’t find in the margins of their old schoolbooks or in the Billboard Top 40. An ostensibly personal collection of verse made impersonal by lyric and thematic tropes. KIRKUS REVIEWS: Poetry is Cool by Joe Lyon Love, death, and more of life's big topics get a lyrical treatment in this autobiographical book of rhymes. Not all of us grow up to be rock stars, but many of us have dreamed of becoming one. At a tender age, we may have filled notebooks with rhyming refrains inspired by those of our favorite artists on the radio—ones that lean on familiar rhymes like "heart" and "apart," "sad" and "mad." Without an instrument to accompany those refrains, they could even be called poems. Lyon has done just that. His collection of original song lyrics runs a gamut of topics, from childhood memories to romantic and familial love to war and death—plus two inexplicable odes to frogs. "When I was here, I had a voice, a mind, and a thought or two, but most of all, I could feel," the author writes by way of introduction. "And what I could feel, I could mostly express, in song." While the lyrics are meant to convey personal moments from the author's life, their generic platitudes could apply to just about anyone, not unlike pop songs. Unique details from Lyon's life are found instead in photographs interspersed throughout the book. Readers have to do a fair share of guesswork to draw parall