Review of "Heartstrings and Hellish Things" by Lauren Green
- Megan Diedericks
- 4 hours ago
- 1 min read
Heartstrings and Hellish Things by Lauren Green is an absolute work of art! This whole pamphlet of poetry made me feel seen, as if Lauren was inside my brain while writing nearly every poem.
I'm a HUGE lover of the writing Lauren shares on Instagram, so it's no surprise to me that this collection left me wanting MORE.
I feel the themes can all be put under an umbrella I'm calling "dark and heavy thoughts," which leads me to: just how damn fitting the title is. These poems will pull on your Heartstrings as they dive deep into Hellish Things (pun not only intended, but NECESSARY).
If I could list my favourite parts of each poem, I would do so, but I'll limit myself to three quotes:
• I'd Rather Be an Oddity:
"I'd rather be an oddity than change who I
am..."
• Scroll Until We're Sad:
"Double tap, leave a heart,
now comment something nice;
'OMG, I love your look',
Fuck, I hate my life."
• Before You Go:
"before you go, please tell me
how to cope with the grief
without a body to bury..."
Now this leads me to my absolute favourite piece in this pamphlet: "Injured Blackbird." The poem starts with an injured blackbird perched on a gate, then it travels to the inside of a cottage—where a woman, whose hurt is mirrored by the blackbird, resides. I feel like this is a piece I'll never forget!
"... where the injured blackbird sits,
hurting just as much as she is." (Injured Blackbird)
I'm looking forward to seeing a full-length poetry collection from Lauren Green in the future!
