A review by buggirl48
Time is a Mother by Ocean Vuong

4.0

As someone who is not a huge poetry consumer but a lover of Vuong's themes and writing abilities, this collection of poems had me intrigued just from the title and it did not disappoint in the slightest.The poems in this are truly like nothing I have ever read before, I can barely put into words how much this collection affected me, and it's been weeks since I finished this. This collection deals with many different themes including race, sexuality and family, but for me personally the grief in this book is what knocked the wind out of me. As someone who has gone through the grieving process of losing their mother I knew this would be a tough yet relatable read, but I truly was not prepared for the wave of emotions that took over me while reading this. It's raw, gorgeous yet haunting, but overall it just leaves you speechless in the best way possible. The originality with some of the pieces in this added such a dynamic layer to it as well which I adored (specifically the Amazon History poem, possibly my favorite piece of writing I've read in 2021). The pages in this come alive with anger, confusion, fear, joy and so many other feelings, it's like this book has its own soul it’s just that full of life, energy and emotion. Without a doubt the best poetry I've read in my life, and I cannot wait for everyone to savor the emotions you get from this just like I did.