don’t shrink
your truth
to make it fit
nice and neatly
in others
as if it’s origami.
unfold and
free yourself.
As a note, an e-galley of this novel was sent to me via NetGalley by the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not effect my opinions in any way.
K.Y. Robinson knows what makes poetry. This much was apparent in The Chaos of Longing and I'm so incredibly moved by what she portrayed. She dives deeper and deeper into parts of her soul and gives us this intimate look inside. Something that is not always possible. Yet, here it is, that reminder that it's not impossible to feel connected to someone else's words. Much like with Depression & Other Magic Tricks, Milk and Honey and The Princess Saves Herself in this One, Robinson crafts something so obtainable and wonderful, I could not put the collection down.
To say that The Chaos of Longing was beautiful and one of my most beloved collections of poetry this year would be an injustice. It was so much more than that. I hadn't read the previously published edition of this, but when I read the blurb--I just had to. You know that feeling of an instant connection? I had that. I had that before I opened it. I had that the first line I read. I had it long after the final poem had passed my by.
For me, there's nothing more stunning than this collection. It takes a special talent to express themselves and scatter emotion throughout the pages of a book. But for them to do it in poems? That's some sort of otherworldly magic. I'm here for everything that K.Y. Robinson writes. She's got a stan for life. I can't tell you guys how much I loved this powerful little guy without sounding like an incoherent weirdo, but know this: I rarely feel this connected to poetry.
I can't wait for the finished copies so I can highlight the heck out of it.
I am going to be hungover from the prose. Just so we're all clear.