Some books feel like companions. Others feel like mirrors.
The Pleasure of Life is the kind of poetry that looks back at you. It asks nothing aggressively, yet it leaves you questioning gently: How am I living? What am I overlooking? When did I last feel grateful without reason?
David Lubari Biar Lominyo writes with the calm authority of someone who has lived long enough to understand that wisdom does not shout. His poems are grounded—rooted in work, faith, endurance, memory. They carry the texture of real days, not imagined perfection.
There is a deep humanity running through this collection. A sense that life, in all its unevenness, still deserves reverence. The poems do not glamorise existence, nor do they despair of it. Instead, they accept life as it is complex, flawed, precious.
What stands out most is restraint. The poet trusts the reader. He does not overexplain emotion or decorate suffering. He allows meaning to emerge naturally, as understanding does in real life slowly, quietly, over time.
Reading these poems feels like sitting with an elder who does not need to impress you, only to tell the truth. And in that truth, you find yourself reflected.
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