Poems on self-love and spiritual blackmail, vol. 1
by Angie Outis
These very personal poems were written by a young mother of three during the time that her marriage fell apart. They revolve around a singular incident that opened her eyes to the violent nature in her husband\’s personality- something I gather she had been blind to for years, or unwilling to admit/confront, because of what it would mean to their relationship… It\’s also about a crumbling of her faith- all the rules she\’d been taught to follow, the promises that things would work out, be okay, if she lived in a certain way.
Through the verses that relate conversations between friends and close family moments, I felt like I was peeking into someone\’s private slice of pain. Some of the lines are so precisely descriptive in a fresh, new way. When I find poetry that speaks to me, this is especially what I like about it. Of a neighbor\’s stunning beauty: her smile could eclipse the sun. Of her husband\’s sudden, shocking violence: His profanity was a jackhammer / that splintered my reality.
It did not quite feel complete- but there are other volumes in this poetry series, so I have a sense that more is told, the story comes full circle with further reading. I\’m not sure I understood what the \’spiritual blackmail\’ is referred to in the subtitle- but I guess that would become clear with further reading, too. I finished it in one sitting but went back to revisit twice, it had that much of a quiet impact.
I received a copy of this book from the author.
Rating: 3/5 24 pages, 2017
