Experience a vividly honest, vulnerable, bold, and beautiful journey and go on your own along the way.
Experience a vividly honest, vulnerable, bold, and beautiful journey and go on your own along the way.
Out of brokennessā¦.
Out of brokenness
I was shaped
Formed
Shattered
Pieces of me
Still missing
Buried
Beneath pain
Shame
Lack
Feelings of not enough
And being unworthy
Too short
Too fat
Too skinny
Too loud
Too quiet
Too broken
Labels that others draped around me
And I clutched them close to me
Because they felt familiar
They were what I was used to
Pieces
Being buried
Hidden
Still missing
But existing as if I was whole
Because it was all I ever knew
The first thing that struck me about Out of Brokenness was the personal nature of the collection. Keneatha Renae includes pictures of her family alongside the poems, which I found to be fascinating and heartwarming. Renae also includes unique fonts to emphasize certain phrases and words that remind me of Emily Dickinson's style.
Renae's personal style is straightforward and blunt, hitting the core of the emotion fueling each poem. Themes range from reminiscing about childhood innocence, the loss of a loved one, and enjoying the little things in life. I enjoyed reading each poem as if I was looking into a window of the author's past.
One of my favorite poems entitled "Lost in the Beat" is a sensual description of a love for music. You can feel the author's passion for songs she can dance to and forget about the world around her. Renae writes:
I let the music fill me
Like a thief, it steals me
I close my eyes
While the rhythm thrills me
Renae bravely challenges trauma with her poem "Mother." The author writes about the pain from her past, feeding the words with her anger and frustration. She cries out for help:
You either didnāt see
Or care
Or acknowledge
The fear
The terror
That trebled through my body
That shone within my eyes
That wrapped around me like a second skin
The journey of Out of Brokenness ends with a positive "Acknowledgement" in which Keneatha Renae thanks God and her family. It wraps up the good and bad experiences with a hopeful bow. There is some content in the collection that might trigger others who have experienced trauma, however, Renae leads you through the darkest parts of her mind and out through a tunnel of light. I recommend Out of Brokenness for a transformative journey.