An honest, raw, and intoxicating collection of poetry from the #1 Bestselling author of The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher and Keep You.
Because the day I came alive was the day I chose to love myself again.
Christopher M. Tantillo’s poetry debut, things i never got to tell you, is the first book in a trilogy that weaves personal narratives with professions about how we find ourselves in the many varied stages of falling in and out of love with others and ourselves. It paints a loose narrative as we navigate love, loss, grief, heartbreak, hope, betrayal, death, what it means to be a man expressing emotions, how we romanticize people and places and memories, and ultimately, healing. Like life ebbs and flows, the poems bounce from dismay to infatuation with the turn of a page.
Tantillo weaves an experience that will leave you heartbroken, seduced, and introspective on your own relationships, past and present. The collection invites the reader to reflect on the things they never got to tell to the people they loved, or that loved them.
An honest, raw, and intoxicating collection of poetry from the #1 Bestselling author of The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher and Keep You.
Because the day I came alive was the day I chose to love myself again.
Christopher M. Tantillo’s poetry debut, things i never got to tell you, is the first book in a trilogy that weaves personal narratives with professions about how we find ourselves in the many varied stages of falling in and out of love with others and ourselves. It paints a loose narrative as we navigate love, loss, grief, heartbreak, hope, betrayal, death, what it means to be a man expressing emotions, how we romanticize people and places and memories, and ultimately, healing. Like life ebbs and flows, the poems bounce from dismay to infatuation with the turn of a page.
Tantillo weaves an experience that will leave you heartbroken, seduced, and introspective on your own relationships, past and present. The collection invites the reader to reflect on the things they never got to tell to the people they loved, or that loved them.
Dear,
Dear You,
There is so much
I never got to say
the last time we
were together—
so much that
has been bottled up.
I hope that,
wherever you are,
this finds you well.
We promised to
keep the other
updated.
Here is everything
I have to say—
some of it is
about you,
and for that
I’m sorry.
Unraveled
what have you done to me?
what have you done to me?
what have you done to me?
you’ve d
e
s
t
r
o
y
e
d
me
em regnol on ma i won
Life Support
mouths open and
lips press together—
let my breath
escape
into yours and
t
r
a
v
e
l
down into
your lungs
and remind you
that you
never have to
breathe on
your own again
Atrium
you don’t have to
look far
to find your heart—
it’s within me,
in the chambers
of my soul.
i’ve kept you there
ever since the day
you left,
and you can
claim it
whenever you want.
everything within me
has always been
yours to take.
Quirky
the first time
you bit your lip
had me
falling forever
how simple a quirk
like a chuckle
in the back
of your throat
could stay with me
longer than
you ever did
Cocoon
She said
silence
was more
suffocating
than his
gin-drenched
breath.
The porch light on
Oak St.
permanently dark.
A perpetual state
—hands work out
their demons.
She said
she stays quiet
to save grace.
There is no cure
for loneliness.
She said
her hands
weave butterflies.
Sometimes
a caterpillar
dies.
Bonfire of Emotional Vampires
I’m petrified wood
resting atop
dead ash.
You are an ember
sparkling amber
beneath decrepit rubble.
Don’t get too close
or you’ll be snuffed out—
sucked dry.
Rain comes
in the morning, love,
to wash away our lonely sins.
Fire comes, with moonlight above,
to drain you of
your innocence.
Detox
Cut you out—
strip marrow
from bone
Novocain the pain—
put me to sleep
Extract you—
rip you out
of every cell
Remove the residue—
leave no trace
Wake up—
now I’m nothing
but flesh
Things I Never Got to Tell You by Christopher M. Tantillo is the first book of poems in the Things Never Said set of three volumes. In true Tantillo fashion, there are many possible triggers in the book. To summarise them, if you think abuse (emotional, mainly), mental health issues, self-harm, and suicide ideation will be difficult topics to handle at the moment, rather shelf the book until you can fully experience walking this journey in a manner that is not detrimental to you.
In this first volume, Tantillo deals with themes of unrequited love and loss. By adopting a reaching and drifting narrative style, he gives the reader a surreal experience of soul-crushing heartbreak and toxicity and fear holding people back. Through this approach to his poetry, he creates images of girls and women that are haunting and just out of touch. And a man that’s a boy haunted by hair and dimples and veils and cut thighs. That ethereal narration makes the experience one of being cocooned; so that the reader is forced to sit with the narrator in the realness of the hurt and the elusiveness of the desire for more.
I cannot fault this book in any way. This is a masterpiece and I cannot wait for the others. The possible omnibus version might be great, actually. What I can do is address some possible readers. For sensitive readers, beyond the triggers stated above, there is some profanity that might not be appreciated. It would also be best to alert those who prefer absolutely no sexual content that there is some kissing in the book. Other than those small details, if you enjoy a beautiful and heart-wrenching poetic experience that might satiate the want for an upper young adult story telling of the darker and, arguably, more vulnerable side of love, this might be the book for you.