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4.29 AVERAGE
4.29 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
medium-paced
it's kaveh akbar, what else am i going to say?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism
I think it's official that I don't like metaphorical poetry - it was a good run.
Some favourite bits and pieces:
NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE
“I’ve given this coldness many names thinking if it had a name it would have a solution thinking if I called a wolf a wolf I might dull its fangs I carried the coldness like a diamond for years holding it close near as blood until one day I woke and it was fully inside me both of us ruined and unrecognizable”
NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE
“I fumble towards grace
like a vine searching for a wall.
Any drunk can tell you willpower’s
useless, but that doesn’t stop us
from trusting it—the drowning
man surfaces three times
before sinking completely. Are you
going to finish that tongue, my love?
I’ll chew it up for you, spit it
down your throat.”
EVERY DRUNK WANTS TO DIE SOBER IT’S HOW WE BEAT THE GAME
“it’s hard to speak of something so gauche as ambition
while the whole wheezing mosaic chips away but let it be known
I do hope one day to be free of this body’s dry wood if living proves
anything it’s that such astonishment is possible”
Some favourite bits and pieces:
NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE
“I’ve given this coldness many names thinking if it had a name it would have a solution thinking if I called a wolf a wolf I might dull its fangs I carried the coldness like a diamond for years holding it close near as blood until one day I woke and it was fully inside me both of us ruined and unrecognizable”
NO IS A COMPLETE SENTENCE
“I fumble towards grace
like a vine searching for a wall.
Any drunk can tell you willpower’s
useless, but that doesn’t stop us
from trusting it—the drowning
man surfaces three times
before sinking completely. Are you
going to finish that tongue, my love?
I’ll chew it up for you, spit it
down your throat.”
EVERY DRUNK WANTS TO DIE SOBER IT’S HOW WE BEAT THE GAME
“it’s hard to speak of something so gauche as ambition
while the whole wheezing mosaic chips away but let it be known
I do hope one day to be free of this body’s dry wood if living proves
anything it’s that such astonishment is possible”
i love this. i’ve never read a poetry book like this before. i’ve never read words so pretty before. i was recommended this by a coworker and she loves the author. is it a tiny bit pretentious? maybe. or maybe just hard to understand? a little. but passed that, it’s a gem.
fast-paced
The spiraling imagery and vulnerable themes are such standout aspects of this book. I wasn’t as into the lack of punctuation throughout many of the poems, but the rhythm of them was still tight nevertheless.
the portraits of the alcoholic were my favourite passages. one of the most beautiful books i’ve ever read
emotional
reflective
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism
emotional
reflective
slow-paced