paradoxicalcreature's review against another edition
4.0
insane and devastatingly good. will reread soon and will probably give it five stars then.
myqz's review against another edition
4.0
Beautiful collection. The three sections seem to break up poems by their focus: the collective, the historical, the personal. As a whole, the book does what all of the best poetry does: made me better understand another human, and feel grateful for that connection. There are a few poems here that pull the bottom of my shirt over my face and punch me in the gut, like “A Young Man”:
We stand together on our block, me and my son,
Neighbors saying our face is the same, but I know
He’s better than me: when other children move
Toward my daughter, he lurches like a brother
Meant to put them down. He is a bodyguard
On the playground. He won’t turn apart from her,
Empties any enemy, leaves them flimsy, me
Confounded. I never fought for so much—
I calmed my daughter when I could cradle
My daughter; my son swaggers about her.
He won’t have to heal a girl he won’t let free.
They are so small. And I, still, am a young man.
In him lives my black anger made red.
They play. He is not yet incarcerated.
We stand together on our block, me and my son,
Neighbors saying our face is the same, but I know
He’s better than me: when other children move
Toward my daughter, he lurches like a brother
Meant to put them down. He is a bodyguard
On the playground. He won’t turn apart from her,
Empties any enemy, leaves them flimsy, me
Confounded. I never fought for so much—
I calmed my daughter when I could cradle
My daughter; my son swaggers about her.
He won’t have to heal a girl he won’t let free.
They are so small. And I, still, am a young man.
In him lives my black anger made red.
They play. He is not yet incarcerated.
eloisechelsey's review against another edition
4.0
Often quite moving. I’m fairly new to poetry, but this is a great collection.
caramels's review against another edition
5.0
Monotheism
Some people need religion. Me?
I’ve got my long black hair. I twist
The roots and braid it tight. You’re
My villain. You’re a hard father, from
Behind, it whines, tied and tucked,
Untouchable. Then comes
The night— Before I carry my
Mane to bed with me, I sit us
In front of the vanity. Undo. Un-
wind. Finally your fingers, it says
Near my ear, Your fingers. Your
Whole hands. No one’s but yours.
Some people need religion. Me?
I’ve got my long black hair. I twist
The roots and braid it tight. You’re
My villain. You’re a hard father, from
Behind, it whines, tied and tucked,
Untouchable. Then comes
The night— Before I carry my
Mane to bed with me, I sit us
In front of the vanity. Undo. Un-
wind. Finally your fingers, it says
Near my ear, Your fingers. Your
Whole hands. No one’s but yours.