Bristena G. Mantu
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Liberated Spirit
book of therapeutic poetry by Bristena Mantu
The Desire to Create...
The desire to create arises from the longing to rediscover oneself.
It is the life force breaking through cracks of the mundane,
like snowdrops piercing the snow.
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It is the whisper of a new self,
ready to emerge from the dark of the unconscious.
The soul aches for expression,
and this desire renews the pulse of life.
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It opens gates to ungraspable mysteries,
rekindles the inner spark,
and demands a fierce celebration of existence.
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Despite distractions, the desire to create leads you home,
to the oasis of Self.
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It is the primal scream of the untamed being,
the call of the inner sage,
grabbing you by the ear to hear what truly matters.
​​​​"Self-critical, taking analysis to abyssal heights, she dares to write: ‘My writing seems to suffer/ from the edge of raw naivety...’ Between the cruelty of absolute love and the naivety of… naivety (as Love above all love!), Bristena Mantu confirms her lyrical freshness, nourished by sources not at all mysterious, but grand in their wise whispers: by her second book, she is already the poet who has avoided “the trap of futile certainty”, a poet of “the depths of being”, “of truth that whispers” (‘beyond illusions’)...
(A.G. Halil-Secara, foreword)
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"With aesthetic means and possibilities derived from both conventional and unconventional therapies of Western Psychology, combined with the growing influences of Eastern spirituality, philosophy, and metaphysics, in a simple language typical of a psychotherapist, with expressive value mainly limited to the denotative meaning of the verb, and almost no play with the aesthetics of language innovation, the poetry of Bristena Mantu does not propose the neuroses of the disturbed and turbulent spirit of the 'classic in modernism' poet, nor the dilemmas and anxieties of one’s physiology and pathophysiology (as seen in the anxious experiences and shivers of pathogenic femininity in the poetry of the nineties!). Rather, it offers solutions for overcoming potentially debilitating existential fears with a nonchalance specific to that 'Mystical Pragmatism / a delicate act of balance / between reason and passion / structure and flow’ (...) as if an entire psychotherapy course could be transposed inherently into the poetry of life’s challenges."
(Oana Dugan, literary critic)
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"Like any valuable artistic creation, Bristena G. Mantu’s work transcends individuality, becoming a universal reflection of human reality. Yet, it unmistakably bears the mark of her poetic self — deeply loyal to her own spiritual horizon. Through her aesthetic experiences, the poet joins the demiurgic act of creating beauty, rejecting conventional affiliations and affirming her right to express a free, authentic spirit, untouched by foreign stylistic artifices.”
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(V. Dimofte-Chiriac, literary critic)
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"The discovery of solitude — a burden, a curse, and, redeeming, a refuge — coincides with the discovery of the need to contemplate the world and to meditate upon it… Only in solitude does the awakening of self-consciousness occur, thereby opening limitless possibilities for creation."
(Ana Dobre, literary critic)
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Liberated Spirit
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Poetry
is simply
an act of the
liberated spirit
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Each poem,
a new expression
of the liberated state
Each word, a carefully chosen
means of capturing
a most precious essence
Don't look for poetry
in literary currents
with expiry dates
Poetry is eternal
it dies and is reborn
yet its Spirit grows
ever stronger!
Primordial Vein
Return to your primordial vein
and merge with the sweet offspring
that, still fermenting in the depths,
strives to resurface once again!
Grant yourself time, grant yourself space
set everyone and everything aside
become one with the spark
of the sky in your mirrored gaze!
Return to the duty of joy
that only through you takes root,
seize your passion, frolicking
over boundless fields, forever childlike!
Call of Solitude
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Hello, I have missed me
I've missed getting drunk
in the haze of my own reverie,
away from a mundane trajectory
At last, I can yield myself
to the call of solitude -
unfathomably quiet, yet
of unequivocal magnitude
Fumbling with my thought
upon Einaudi's piano keys,
sniffling with my heart
I'm plotting new braveries
Floating down the fullness
of this solitary stream
may this be a new beginning
of my never-ending dream..?
Unveiling Her
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Step aside, sweet girl,
and make room for the woman
you’ve longed to become.
let her grace inhabit
every corner of your being
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No longer the “almost” girl,
this woman gathers herself whole,
basking in the fullness of her senses.
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The ripened, generous curves
shed the weight of shame,
the fierce, unwavering gaze
cuts through illusion’s haze,
the voice, clear and crisp,
unbiased by honeyed pleasantries.
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Step aside, sweet girl,
leave your meekness at the door
bow down to the woman
you’ve fought to become!
