Speakeasy is an eloquent collection of poetry is presented in two parts: “Conceal” and “Reveal”. “Conceal” basks in nostalgia, longing and regret while “Reveal” delights in love, desire and life.
From “Conceal”: Ripped Stockings Therapy
“It was something she did when her mind was consumed with thoughts she didn’t like.
She’d find a small hole, hook her thumb under it and rip slowly. Pick, pick, pick; there was a perverse kind of pleasure to be found in the ruination of her formerly flawless black stockings.
Why should anything she own be flawless, when she herself was so riddled with imperfections?
Some people took their discomfort out on their skin. Their liver. Their lungs.
She had a tightly wadded ball of ripped stockings to represent her particular brand of malaise.”
From “Reveal”: Houses
“I invested in houses.
Beautiful houses, cold to the touch.
Crumbling houses, dusty and desolate.
Towering houses with nothing inside.
I grew tired of blowing on frozen fingers; of ducking from falling debris.
I grew tired of wandering endless empty halls.
The houses I bought could never be homes.
When I found a home, I didn’t know—
It was not the way I thought a home would look.
It was solid, unshakeable, warm.
Nomadic but omnipresent, somehow.
No walls to trap me, but a foundation to steady me.
I set fire to the houses.”
Speakeasy’s power lies in its ability to soak each word in emotion and guide the reader to feel what lies between each line. It forces the reader to handle each line with care and gentle contemplation.
This was a delight to read and I hope this collection is the first of many for Cottrell.