There was no welcome into backing me into a corner. One of the many ways a very evil individual who would touch without consent and who manipulated me into being my ‘friend.’ There was no friendship in the disgusting glances. Night after night, my insecurities rise to the surface. I was wrong, and I needed to read those lines. I was never touched with a filthy, lying hand. To be strong, I act like nothing ever happened. I viewed feelings and past toxic relationships as something I needed to be immediately done with. It felt like I went through shock therapy. I wish I could have seen my life from this perspective earlier. I am picky with poetry, but I cannot ignore it when it is a direct mirror of myself looking back at me. I wonder if she is speaking to me directly. With every new page, I wonder if the author somehow has followed me through life and narrated my thoughts and clumsy and awkward conversations. I feel my body and mind are disconnected, except when my worries wage against me and I stay up all night concerned over past transgressions and burden with future bad decisions that have not happened yet. I felt I was reading a reflection of my anxieties and fears.

Off the bat, this poetry collection is calling me out. Shelby Leigh is one of my new favorite poets. Especially with this book, I feel like I needed to read it when it got to me. I am so happy that I was one of the chosen few. First, I must thank the author and the publisher for sending me a copy to review.

Changing with the tides by shelby leigh