{"product_id":"the-art-of-waking-up-brenda-taulbee-9781684544691","title":"The Art of Waking Up: 62 Poems \u0026 A Song of Despair: 2012-2015; 2nd. Edition, revised, incl. recent poems","description":"\u003cp\u003eThese poems are about poverty, family, loss, the vast significance of the everyday, the wisdom of eating when you are hungry.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut mostly about love. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHere's a poem: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI AM A KNOWN BREAKER OF BROKEN THINGS: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eI am a known breaker of broken things. \/ I can guarantee the permanent dismantling \/ of anything even moderately salvageable. \/ While gluing the handle back on your \/ favorite mug? \/ I will undoubtedly manage to chip the rim. \/ Patching your jeans I'll blow a seam \/ rendering them unwearable. \/\/ Listen. \/\/ Next time you're on your hands and knees \/ digging through dust bunnies for those lost batteries. \/ You. Will. Regret. The day \/ I offered to fix the remote control \/ because I inevitably manage to crack \/ the plastic snap off the back, \/ that delicate tab meant to \/ hold everything together. \/\/ I'm not the best at keeping it together. \/\/ See, my dad was the guy who'd give you \/ a reason to cry if you couldn't supply \/ a full alibi for every. Single. Tear. \/Complaining about scraped knees or bee \/ stings earned a two-fold return in the currency \/ of pain, teaching a younger me \/ the most efficient means \/ to overcome one agony \/ is replacing it with another. \/ I don't mean to be blunt \/ but the force of trauma was the only lesson \/ I ever learned from love. \/ I will be a kick in the ribs \/ when what you needed was someone \/ to kiss it better. \/\/ Darling, I can see the seams \/ where your delicate dreams are knitting themselves \/ back together. \/\/ So please. \/\/ Don't offer me those parallel lines, \/ scar tissue rungs strung \/ across your upper thighs, \/ the ladder you climb to escape \/ each personal hell. \/\/ Don't tell me the history of your body. \/ Describe the trajectory and delicacy \/ of stick-thin child limbs, \/ plaster walls elastically \/ absorbing the full weight of you \/ after mom had one-too-many gin nightmares. \/\/ You are porcelain \/ and these hands were tempered in concrete. \/ Your wings might be a bit bent (testament \/ to the turbulence they underwent) but \/ they are healing. \/\/ Don't tempt me to fix you. \/ I am a known breaker of broken things.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Brenda Taulbee\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1684544696\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781684544691\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Reprobate\/Gobq\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/26\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 100\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.21lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 7.00h x 5.00w x 0.21d","brand":"Brenda Taulbee","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":44255029428479,"sku":"9781684544691","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_b1a6bb4f-2c71-4323-bddc-2779f6d3a131.jpg?v=1694615713","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-art-of-waking-up-brenda-taulbee-9781684544691","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}