underrated poetry

I’ve a few. I hope at least one of these helps. <3

Nox by Anne Carson (death of an estranged brother; get a decent copy if you buy this because it’s basically an art piece)

tristitiam et metus tradam in mare I will consign sadness and fear to the sea

World of Made and Unmade by Jane Mead (death of a parent after a long-term illness)

This yearI have disappeared.

Or I was never there.Or I was never here.

All We Saw by Anne Michaels (death of a significant other)

the moment desire forciblyis renamedgrief

the precise space betweenthose two words

from “Bison”

What the Living Do by Marie Howe (death of a brother by AIDs)

But there are moments, walking, when I catch a glimpse of myself in the window glass,say, the window of the corner video store, and I’m gripped by a cherishing so deep

for my own blowing hair, chapped face, and unbuttoned coat that I’m speechless:I am living. I remember you.

from “What the Living Do”

“The Gate” by Marie Howe

“Orchids Are Sprouting From the Floorboards” by Kaveh Akbar

“Corpse Flower” by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal (miscarriage)

Homing signal adrift among stars, our tender impossible longing.

What have I made of your sacrifice.

“On Emotion” by Jennifer Chang (a mother’s miscarriage)

“Initiation” by Kamilah Aisha Moon (death of a mother)

Please Bury Me in This by Allison Benis White (deaths of loved ones by suicide; tw: suicidal ideation)

In the museum of sadness, in the museum of light—

I would climb so carefully inside the glass coffin and lower the lid.