Love and Misadventure is a collection of whimsical poems by artist and poet, Lang Leav. Her adorable collection of illustrations and sweet poems are eye-catching and alluring. Leav’s poems depict the ups and downs of love, and each and every poem is relatable.
Her poems describe the complexities of falling in and out of love, but are disguised in a simple, short poem that is easy for readers to follow.
The first section of the book, “Misadventure,” describes longing for the man she so desires, and dealing with the feelings she has, such as fear of falling, yearning, and the roller-coaster passion that we all have experienced.
The second section, “The Circus of Sorrows,” portrays the battle of losing love and the suffering that come along with it.
From the section “The Circus of Sorrows”:
The Things We Hide
And so,
I have put away
the photographs,
every trace of you
I know.
The things that seem
to matter less,
are the ones
we put on show.
The third section, my personal favorite, illustrates the beauty of love. Leav even includes poems like, “Sundays with Michael” which is a poem about her significant other. She speaks of living a dream and a fairy tale. I love this section because it gives hope to readers that it is possible to find that storybook ending with another person.
From “Part 3: Love”:
First Love
Before I fell
in love with the words,
with the setting skies
and singing birds—
it was you I fell
in love with you first.
As I read this poem, Leav’s wistful words linger in the air as if she was reading it aloud. Leav’s poems are deep, meaningful, thoughtful and full of poise. Her poems are a true inspiration and evoke feelings of despair, longing, love and desire in all of her readers.