A review by eldritchteacozy
Lean Against This Late Hour by Garous Abdolmalekian

5.0

This collection is absolutely gorgeous. The poetry is at once sensuous and very thought provoking, full of juxtapositions and contradictions. There is an air of melancholy with little hints of beauty throughout. I love the way the poet compares and contrasts the natural world to the man-made one in a lot of ways, from bees flying over fields of landmines, to birds so accustomed to nesting on wires, that they no longer nest on trees. The poems contain a hint of the complexities of self and identity, and the way we relate to others, yet remain apart. The martial imagery is also very well-used and affecting, without being too much.
This collection also has a very unusual sense of time, where memory is stacked on top of memory on top of present reality, where multiple possibilities inhabit a single space. It's breathtaking and brilliant.

I'd recommend this to anyone who loves imagery rich poetry that appeals to the senses, the mind, and the heart.

FTC disclosure: I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review