There is a lot to say about the struggle to be an indie poet. There is the collection of poems, editing, publishing, marketing, and sharing a piece of one's soul. That is what Miss Bailey Gee, or Yael Gottesman has done: shared a piece of her soul.
Hardly a chapbook, the 18 poems featured are strong in content. They are heartbreaking. They are emotional. They remind me a lot about my own times in inpatient treatment: a fact that could bring a lot of stigma.
In "Footsteps to Reflection", the line "Wake up. Kick ass. Repeat." reminds me of a battle cry in a lost galaxy of running thoughts, uncertainty, and emotional turmoil. Again, real and pressing matters of mental health.
My favorite poem is "The Loneliness Pandemic" as I relate to it the most. It is such a strange phenomenon that in a world so full of people where we are connected at a push of a touchscreen--it is still a very big and lonely place. The poem reads like one of my innermost confessions "I’m not alone; I’ve got deafening silence surrounding me, louder than ever during quarantine." Perhaps, we will learn how to be a voice that cuts through the blade of silence during this COVID-19 pandemic. At least, that is my wish.
I realized, while reading this collection, that I am a literary reader. I like imagery, I like wordplay. Though, there were very little flowery images or tantalizing word play: the poems expressed their motives completely. There was no ambiguity in meaning and the vulnerability is daunting. Quite a haunting read.
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