Scan barcode
mattinthebooks's review against another edition
3.0
Second read here-
I can’t believe I hated this the first time. I think I was either in a bad mood or reading too quickly. Either way, this became brilliant to me with time. Though it lags at points, especially with the over-indulgence on Bowie references which began as fun and became exhausting, it is a fascinating piece. Wherever Smith engages God and space, the poem is bound to be incredible.
I can’t believe I hated this the first time. I think I was either in a bad mood or reading too quickly. Either way, this became brilliant to me with time. Though it lags at points, especially with the over-indulgence on Bowie references which began as fun and became exhausting, it is a fascinating piece. Wherever Smith engages God and space, the poem is bound to be incredible.
willow_the_wisp's review against another edition
Not bad I just didn't vibe with it
rebekahjenkins's review against another edition
5.0
Magical and ethereal. Must read for lovers of pattern and form.
mepresley's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
4.0
My favorite poems were "At Some Point, They'll Want to Know What It was Like," "Life on Mars," and "Sacrament."
"At Some Point, They'll Want to Know What It was Like"
Somehow you'd just give away what you'd die without. You just gave.
The best was having nothing. No hope. No name in the throat.
And finding the breath in you, the body, to ask.
"Life on Mars"
Tina says what if dark matter is like the space between people
When what holds them together isn't exactly love, and I think
That sounds right--how strong the pull can be, as if something
That knows better won't let you drift apart so easily, and how
Small and heavy you feel, stuck there spinning in place.
....
...How two sisters, say, can stop knowing one another,
Stop hearing the same language, scalding themselves on something
Every time they try to touch. What lives beside us passing for air?
"Sacrament"
The women all sing when the pain is too much.
But first there is a deep despairing silence.
I don't know what rocks in them, what wants
To knock them clear. ...
....
...Sometimes
It takes forever for that song only the animals know
To climb back up into air as if to burst the throat.
Other favorite lines:
Who knows what blazes through his mind?
Is it still his life he moves through, or does
That end at the end of what he can name? ("My God, It's Full of Stars")
And what would we do, you and I, if we could know for sure
That someone was there squinting through the dust,
Saying nothing is lost, that everything lives on waiting only
To be wanted back badly enough?...
....
...Just like the life
In which I'm forever a child looking out my window at the night sky
Thinking one day I'll touch the world with bare hands
Even if it burns. ("Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?")
What does the storm set free? Spirits stripped of flesh on their slow walk.
The poor in cities learn: when there is no place to lie down, walk. ("The Speed of Belief")
...Memory's stubborn--
I mean misery. You sit in silence waiting to be chosen.
Behaving. Pick up your bed and walk. You want it all
Over again. Past Perfect. But go back and they'll make you
Start from the beginning. Climb out, they put you right back in. ("No-Fly Zone")
When it got to the point where you were only ever
Him, I had to get out from under it, sit up
And set my feet on the floor. Haven't I lived this
Enough times over? ... ("Field Guide")
"At Some Point, They'll Want to Know What It was Like"
Somehow you'd just give away what you'd die without. You just gave.
The best was having nothing. No hope. No name in the throat.
And finding the breath in you, the body, to ask.
"Life on Mars"
Tina says what if dark matter is like the space between people
When what holds them together isn't exactly love, and I think
That sounds right--how strong the pull can be, as if something
That knows better won't let you drift apart so easily, and how
Small and heavy you feel, stuck there spinning in place.
....
...How two sisters, say, can stop knowing one another,
Stop hearing the same language, scalding themselves on something
Every time they try to touch. What lives beside us passing for air?
"Sacrament"
The women all sing when the pain is too much.
But first there is a deep despairing silence.
I don't know what rocks in them, what wants
To knock them clear. ...
....
...Sometimes
It takes forever for that song only the animals know
To climb back up into air as if to burst the throat.
Other favorite lines:
Who knows what blazes through his mind?
Is it still his life he moves through, or does
That end at the end of what he can name? ("My God, It's Full of Stars")
And what would we do, you and I, if we could know for sure
That someone was there squinting through the dust,
Saying nothing is lost, that everything lives on waiting only
To be wanted back badly enough?...
....
...Just like the life
In which I'm forever a child looking out my window at the night sky
Thinking one day I'll touch the world with bare hands
Even if it burns. ("Don't You Wonder, Sometimes?")
What does the storm set free? Spirits stripped of flesh on their slow walk.
The poor in cities learn: when there is no place to lie down, walk. ("The Speed of Belief")
...Memory's stubborn--
I mean misery. You sit in silence waiting to be chosen.
Behaving. Pick up your bed and walk. You want it all
Over again. Past Perfect. But go back and they'll make you
Start from the beginning. Climb out, they put you right back in. ("No-Fly Zone")
When it got to the point where you were only ever
Him, I had to get out from under it, sit up
And set my feet on the floor. Haven't I lived this
Enough times over? ... ("Field Guide")
libbyhenderson's review against another edition
3.0
Not what I expected. I love poetry and her imagery is excellent but…. Not my cup of tea
charlesc_n's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
pagesinpages's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
tanemariacris's review against another edition
5.0
Not only are these poems brilliantly expressing thoughts in relation to family, the significance of imagination, the vastness and mystery of the Universe, grief, death, societal alienation, economic and environmental crises, injustice, or even the simple moments in life, like walking your dog, but there is also a whole tribute to Bowie that caused me to tear up and listen to Lazarus on repeat for thirty minutes. Not to mention the father-daughter relationship that's at the core of the book and that was also profoundly impactful, which was translated into more moments of blurred vision for me. Tracy K. Smith creates piercing verses and speculative, sci-fi-inspired images that left me in awe of her inquisitive, tender force.