This is a book of poetry that chronicles a woman working through the aftermath of a failed relationship. The chapter divisions follow her stages of grief, from pain to recovery.
The strength of this volume is its evocative imagery and metaphor, the essence of poetry. Also the frequent flashes of insight that show a deep understanding of the whys and hows of the human heart, including her own.
The statement-discussion-conclusion form of most of the poems leads us with no doubt of the point each one makes, which I find refreshing.
Ms. Weimer does not let punctuation get in the way of her expression (another wise choice) although the reason for using capital “I” sometimes and small “i” at others escapes me, and the misuse of “it’s” in place of “its” is, I’m afraid, just weak editing.
If I had one serious complaint, it is the evenness of tone through most of the book. There are many flashes of wit but few of humour, and readers are allowed very little relief from the pain the poet shares with us. At one point she says, “tears have filled the inkwell i dip this pen intoand for so long I thoughti could not express myself without crying,” and I couldn’t help but agree. Finally, in the last short section, she begins to forgive the other party and stops her mind from endlessly circling on blame and revenge, and then we feel, as she does, the fresh breath of hope.
I’m just sorry the book missed all the good parts of the relationship. I think I would like to hear this poet write about happy times as well.
Well-written, evocative poetry, if rather a downer.
(4 / 5)