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A review by belladonnashrike
Honeybee by Trista Mateer
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
2.75
alexa, play “good luck, babe!” by Chappell Roan.
I felt like this once - I think that’s why I kept reading it. I tend to struggle reading this kind of contemporary poetry. they are often brief, seemingly only written that way to fit nicely within the instagram crop. the poems often lack depth, and I never find myself thinking about my favorite stanzas months later. to parrot another reviewer here, they are “…more of a statement of facts, with too much telling and not enough showing.”
while the writing is very plain, the raw emotions are on display, and I could resonate with them; many of the poems felt like a distant memory. I had a pseudo-relationship like this once as a teenager, which ended poorly and I grieved it as if we were both in love (but it was just me). I feel like this would’ve left a deeper mark on me if I read this when it was published, when I was 14.
but I’m not 14 anymore so all I can say is that this collection of poetry is fine. I see why people really love this style, I do, but oftentimes when I read bereft contemporary poetry, I just think about how I could probably get my own work published easily, and I’m not a practiced or even great poet.
a quote that I do like that also reminds me of something else: earlier today I went shopping for the apples alone. I used an adapted version of your mother’s recipe. I crimped the edges just like you showed me. I’ve realized that it’s not as important to remember where I’ve learned things, as it is to just learn them. I don’t always have to trace everything back to it’s source. it reminds me of that tumblr post that says something along the lines of how everyone is a mosaic of all the people they’ve ever loved. I adore that sentiment.
also, the cover is beautiful.
I felt like this once - I think that’s why I kept reading it. I tend to struggle reading this kind of contemporary poetry. they are often brief, seemingly only written that way to fit nicely within the instagram crop. the poems often lack depth, and I never find myself thinking about my favorite stanzas months later. to parrot another reviewer here, they are “…more of a statement of facts, with too much telling and not enough showing.”
while the writing is very plain, the raw emotions are on display, and I could resonate with them; many of the poems felt like a distant memory. I had a pseudo-relationship like this once as a teenager, which ended poorly and I grieved it as if we were both in love (but it was just me). I feel like this would’ve left a deeper mark on me if I read this when it was published, when I was 14.
but I’m not 14 anymore so all I can say is that this collection of poetry is fine. I see why people really love this style, I do, but oftentimes when I read bereft contemporary poetry, I just think about how I could probably get my own work published easily, and I’m not a practiced or even great poet.
a quote that I do like that also reminds me of something else: earlier today I went shopping for the apples alone. I used an adapted version of your mother’s recipe. I crimped the edges just like you showed me. I’ve realized that it’s not as important to remember where I’ve learned things, as it is to just learn them. I don’t always have to trace everything back to it’s source. it reminds me of that tumblr post that says something along the lines of how everyone is a mosaic of all the people they’ve ever loved. I adore that sentiment.
also, the cover is beautiful.