A review by readivine
Helium by Rudy Francisco

4.0

"I’m still learning
how to whisper, I’m loud in places
where I should be quiet, I’m quiet
in places where I should be loud."

This is by far the best poetry collection that I've read this year, and I think that's saying something since I don't really dig reading these types.

To be honest, Helium really didn't appeal to me that much in the first 15 pages more or less because it leaned more on the author's poetic inclination to heartbreak. As a NBSB individual it's kind of cringy and too insulting for my fragile ego. Kidding ahhahahaha! They're actually written well but we're too repetitive at times which is why I suddenly felt like giving this up. However, as it progressed this book turned out to be so much more than a poetry collection of heartbreak! It skirted a lot of relevant themes without glossing over them. You can also find messages on casual to extreme racism, lawless violence, toxic masculinity, depression, and the rediscovery of love. I can't count how many times I shouted in approval at the amount of shade present in this book. Here are some of my favorite quotes!

"My hobbies include: editing my life story,
hiding behind metaphors,
and trying to convince my shadow
that I’m someone worth following"

"You cracked hourglass
with sand spilling from behind your ribs.
You wasted my time.
How dare you linger on my lips
and then kiss me like a stuttering apology
with excuses stapled to the roof of your mouth"

"No one ever asks a museum
if it’s doing okay.
So when you choose to spill like this,
bleed like this, cry like this,
your pain becomes an exhibit"

"And we often forget that sexism
is a family heirloom that we’ve been passing down for generations.
As men, it is important that we start asking ourselves,
What will the boys learn from us?"

"Being black is one of the most extreme sports in America."

"We turn our boys into bayonets,
point them in the wrong direction,
pull their triggers and fail to acknowledge
all the damage they are doing in the distance."