
When Daisies and Thunderstorms Collide, is a short collection of free-poetry, from the pen of Isabel Scheck. It takes a look at unrequited love, through the eyes of the most underrated of flowers – the daisy. The poems, short and sharp, bring the poignancy and heartache of a young woman, longing for someone, who fails to even notice her. Using her metaphors of the thunderstorm and the daisy, you, as the reader, will run the full gamut of hope, love, rejection, hope again, pain, and finally rage, as the love that flows from the daisy, is not reciprocated by the thunderstorm. What the poet tries to evoke here is the idea that we can be both sides of the equation, both the delicate daisy and the roaring thunderstorm.
This is a quick read and will appeal to readers who like visual imagery and the linking of emotions to physical reactions. As with all collections, especially of poetry, a few favourites will always stand out and this was certainly the case, for me, with When Daisies and Thunderstorms Collide. Author Isobel Scheck managed to touch me with a number of verses. In “I Do Not Appreciate Your Frostiness”, I chuckled as the daisy berates the thunderstorm for ignoring her. I can almost feel the self-righteousness of the daisy. “How dare you ignore me?” Equally, “It’s Okay ‘Cause I’ll Learn To Love Myself”, the daisy comes to the realisation that the Thunderstorm not only was not going to notice her and fall for her, he never had and never would. Her only option was to love herself. I enjoyed the positive affirmation of this poem. Finally, “The Daisy Is Dead. Now I’m The Thunderstorm” is a wonderful exclamation of turning a negative into a positive. The thunderstorm’s ignoring of the daisy, will make the daisy turn into her very own thunderstorm. This is a good, gentle read for anyone who has experienced unrequited love or has been hurt by indifference and dismissal.
