Pathic Bearing by David Colin

Pathic Bearing

David Colin

Independently published (2025)

97-98307056936

Reviewed by Jordan Waterwash for Reader Views (11/2025)

https://readerviews.com/reviews/pathic-bearing-colin/

5/5

In Pathic Bearing by David Colin, themes of religion, philosophy, culture, and sexuality are what connect each of the poems. Consisting of fifty poems, Pathic Bearing speaks about being a gay man through the lens of religious imagery and language.

Of the poems, “Camouflaged Enlistment” and “Upon Knees” were two personal favorites. “Camouflaged Enlistment” spoke to the dangers gay men often face in the armed forces. In the poem, the speaker recounts his longing to join a brotherhood and gain their camaraderie; however, instead of the open-armed welcome he hopes for, he receives physical violence instead. I especially enjoyed this line: “I stood in a file of crewcut recruits as we all did nothing.” It painted a clear picture of the situation all the recruits were in, and how the speaker was still singled out among everyone doing “nothing,” which echoes the last line of the poem: “I had done nothing.”

“Upon Knees” has a similar style to “Camouflaged Enlistment.” Where some of the poems were more metaphorical, these two in particular felt straightforward. The contrast between these two and the rest of the poems felt refreshing and added an interesting element to the mix. The final line of “Upon Knees” (like the final line of “Camouflaged Enlistment”) imparted a feeling of longing and confusion that spoke to the themes present in the rest of the collection: “. . . I beg while he conquers.” The rest of the imagery and language spoke of wanting to cherish something while knowing it’s toxic. In this case, it seems to be a reference to both religion and an individual, but that is purely my reading of it.

A portion of the poems were not in English, so readers might want to be aware of that before reading. Only three are entirely in either Spanish or French, so the majority of the poems are in English. The poems were free verse and often used the entire page in interesting ways to convey meaning. I enjoyed the format, but it can be confusing for readers who prefer more conventional poetry. Overall, though, the poems in Pathic Bearing showed Colin’s understanding and love for the form.