Paradise: My 4th Poetry Collection- A Concept

I thought about all the cities, gorgeous seaside towns and impeccably captivating beaches I had visited mainly over the summer of ‘22 when I was compiling this poetry collection.

The utter in-the-moment indulgence when I was there; the hard bidding of goodbyes; the denial and reminiscence that never faded; the acceptance of this dream not being allowed to go on forever. These feelings had all been penned with thoughts. Every single poem was written with a longing to be back in the water, with the summer currents harassing my shieldless physical shell, as if it would flush away my sin with the sense of liberation it had provided. And that was where my idea of paradise is.

Yet, Paradise, the poetry collection, is not about all beautiful things. This collection describes the relationship with myself through months of fancy travels, coming back to my roots and starting work as an adult. It is about the contradicting beauty of dream and reality- how every light and shadow complement one another, like how black and white piano keys coexist. All the moments recorded in this collection have been so important to me in the past year. They hugely reflect the roller-coaster life of someone who had allowed himself to be buried in the lavender haze of a summer dream but then become a harsh victim of reality when he finally woke up.

Paradise is the acknowledgement of my own obsession with summer and beaches; the dauntlessness and pure indulgence in skinny dipping; the recognition that even if my summer trip has come to an end, I have gained more than just memories- it’s full of lessons, horizon-expanding, no doubt. I revisited moments looking back at some short ends I didn't manage to meet; pondered if my effort in love was ever sufficient; dissected my lingering admiration for non-beach locations like small towns with alleyways filled with bread aroma and modern cities with so much humanity on display in every corner. And importantly, I wrote about what I would describe as the great fall from paradise when reality hit with a twisted fairytale ending, the hopelessness and despair from falling, and how things picked up amid my struggles and troubles but not without scars and lessons.

But really, Paradise is, as described, a relationship with myself. Where is Paradise? Paradise is where everything glows. Paradise is when you dare leaving everything behind to meet yourself raw and honest. Paradise is where you are there for yourself, and only yourself. Yet, rather than the literal idea of living ‘the life’ on some European islands during summer, being in paradise is a state of mind to achieve and embrace. And getting there takes monumental courage- there’s never a free ticket to paradise indeed.

By,
Euan Thum.