melmoony's review
4.0
All We Can Hold manages to lure us into a deep meditative state about motherhood and child-parent relationships in a bold yet delicate manner. I have never had children and, therefore, I can’t understand the experiences written here about being pregnant, giving birth, or raising children but reading these beautiful poems helps me reflect on the experiences my mother has been through. From miscarriage to having children grow up and leave the nest, I found that I could now more fully understand her pain. In poems like 4 A.M. Feeding, I love the candor in which Sherine Elise Gilmour described her experience, “How am I supposed to lose you with grace? You will need me less, that is the way…my child who I knew I wanted but didn’t know I wanted this much, breaking from me like a branch from a tree.” Thirteen was also a poem that hit me like a brick with realization of how my mother must have felt when I was a teenager, “turning from me so quickly and so completely, that I see it has never been her body that she leaves behind.”
I also appreciated poems like Dangerous Astronomy in which we see how a father feels when he is not needed during breastfeeding, and What I Think of When People Use “Pussy” as a Synonym for “Weak” in which we get to see how a mother experiences the moment of birth and a C-section. Both such moments of vulnerability and raw emotion that one can more fully comprehend the experience, even if just a little bit.
Overall I found that this selection of poetry on motherhood encompasses varied experiences, deep reflections, and amusing adventures. The range in style and writers adds color to this selection, the design and even the way the cover feels on your fingertips bind this book into a wonderful work of art, fully alive and fluttering, like a butterfly. I definitely recommend it.