This book of poetry pulls you in with the first words and never let’s go. I read this in one sitting, eyes bulging and forgetting to breathe. “I’m bloated with language I can’t afford to forget”

Amazing.

( )

"In Love and In War

To my daughter I will say,
‘when the men come, set yourself on fire’." ( )

So thrilling. Teeming with life and lust, on the brink of sin or tragedy, already lived or about to be lived. ( )

amazing, powerful poetry -
favorite phrase "Apathy is the same as war, it all kills you, she says. Slow like cancer in the breast or fast like a machete in the neck." from the poem My Foreign Wife is Dying and Does Not Want To Be Touched ( )

I'll be the first to admit I'm no connoisseur of poetry. In fact, it's possibly my least favorite literary genre — the desire is there, but when I read it there's simply no appreciation. So when Read Harder announced its categories for 2022 and there was once again a poetry task, I began hunting around for something that work but not be too taxing for my poetry-challenged brain. I found a recommendation for this work while searching for "Poetry for People Who Don't Like Poetry" and it was a decent fit (bonus: also tiny!). The author is of Somali/Kenyan origin and writes from some of her own lived experiences, some clearly painful, and perhaps also those of others near and dear to her. Given some of the difficult subject matter, I'm not sure if this is a book meant to be "enjoyed," but I did my best. ( )