By Ella Boyd
The chapbook Patterns on the Wall by D. H. Jenkins provides a smattering of poems centered around simple, elegant themes including nature, art, music, history, travel, and the lived experience. Described as poetry that evokes the improvisational nature of jazz music, Jenkins draws from his experiences teaching and travelling throughout Asia, as well as his time spent in New Zealand’s plentiful outdoors, to foster a genuine appreciation for observation and life itself. Almost a guide to mindfulness with a Zen-like quality, Patterns on the Wall is passion written onto the page.
Many of the poems start out simply and gain speed later, only to be followed by a wistful reflection at their completion. “Patterns on a Wall”, the very first poem in the collection, provides seemingly list-style notes observing a map of the world. However, the concluding line, “recorded over years, decades, millennia / a flow of images / painted upon cliff rock or cave walls” provides a Plato-like reflection on physical and metaphorical history, the human mind, and our species at large.
This philosophical touch is not unique, as throughout the chapbook several other poems touch on complex themes. The poem “Stolen Moments” explores themes of freedom and cliches, such as the bulletproof feeling of driving down a Californian highway by referencing Lee Ritenour’s version of the jazz song “Stolen Moments”. Using mindfulness to stay in tune with the harmonies of the song and speaking to each instrument individually, Jenkins creates a sense of genuine appreciation for adventure and living in harmony with the ever-changing world. Arguably, “Stolen Moments” is the strongest of the entire collection in its emotional depth and vividness coupled with its concise nature. The faster tempo of “Stolen Moments” is contrasted in the collection with many slower, observation-based poems.
Throughout the collection, there are many lines and phrases that are euphonious purely for their word choice as opposed to the subject matter. For example, in the poem “The Shimmering Cypress Tree”, Jenkins describes the tree as “shimmering, waving / climbing the air with arms outstretched / in twists and folds / like a miter atop the bishop’s head / or a pagoda atop green earth shoulders.” This may be attributed to the author’s admiration for art, which is a common theme across the poems in Patterns on the Wall.
Poems such as “The Blue Man, after van Gogh’s The Sower,” “Melancholy Woman—Pablo Picasso, 1902,” and “The Scream” address this artistic theme more directly. While these poems offer interesting insights and interpretations of iconic artworks, I occasionally found myself wishing for something deeper or more unexpected.
Overall, D H Jenkins’ power lies in his ability to reposition the ordinary, like well-known cliches or iconic pieces of work in new and authentic lights. Patterns on the Wall affords the reader a space to breathe, contemplate existence, and develop an appreciation for the beautiful moments life offers. Utilizing historical events, personal reflections, and nature, D H Jenkins offers poetry everyone can relate to and, most likely, gain a calmer headspace from.
Ella Boyd is a writer and photographer based out of San Clemente, California. Originally from Maine, she received her B.A. in philosophy and media studies from Scripps College. She now works as a freelance writer for The Inertia and SURFER magazine, among others; as the surf columnist at the San Clemente Times; and as an editorial assistant to Matt Warshaw at the Encyclopedia of Surfing. Her work has appeared in Powder magazine, DAYBREAK magazine, The Surftime Journal, and ROVA magazine, among others. Last year, she was shortlisted for the Follow the Light Surf Photography Grant Program, and in 2024 received honorable mention for two photographs in the Flow Trip Photo Contest. She mostly logs, but rides a surf mat or kneeboard if the conditions call for it.
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