I went to a book signing the other day for a poetry book. The event was a good one, and on the way home, thinking back about it and my recent dabbles in poetry with Frank Prem‘s Devil in the Wind, I realized I wanted to engage with poems more. Of course, the fastest way for me to do that was pick up something from NetGalley – helping the poet and quenching my poem-thirst in one go. I found The Rose That Blooms in the Night and I’m thrilled to say it was the perfect choice!
Without the sun, the rose that blooms in the night must learn to create light within herself and bloom from her own love. This poetry collection is a journey of finding the strength it takes to be soft.
The Rose That Blooms in the Night is a collection of poems from spoken word poet, yoga instructor, podcaster, and Instagram influencer Allie Michelle. The collection is meant to be a mirror reflecting the love inside of those who read it. It tells the tale of transformational cycles we experience throughout our lives. Falling in and out of love. Feeling lost and rediscovering our purpose. Learning to create a home within our own skin instead of seeking it in other people and places.
The Short Take – From Goodreads
I read this collection of poems in one sitting – it was comforting and thoughtful, while at the same time being haunting and truthful. I liked the way that Allie conveyed the sentiments around love, passion and learning to be oneself. It helped me acknowledge some truths that I had not yet put into words – things that I want to tell my daughter and my son in the future, the struggle that I have justifying social media sometimes, what it means to come out of my comfort zone and empowering myself… Allie has expressed powerful ideas in beautiful verses. I particularly liked her interpretation of being alone and the ‘nostalgia for now’.
The only thing I would improve is rearranging the poems about social media into a separate section. Between all the other themes, they seem separate sometimes and break the flow a little. But that does not mean that they do not add to the overall message – they absolutely do and I appreciate their presence very much.
On a quick note – the visuals are absolutely stunning! I loved the simplicity of the design. It was a feast for my eyes.
The Long Take – Themes for Thought
The Rose That Blooms in the Night talks about numerous things – women empowerment, passion, healing, love, life, loss, emotions, obstacles, and so much more! The three themes that I connected with on a deeper level were those of being oneself and accepting the uniqueness, how social interactions have changed our everyday interactions and thinking, and pursuing a passion. Using my words, and some of hers, here goes:
On Being Unique
This is not only who we are internally, as a person, but also about our journey in life – the path that we are on. Allie emphasizes how important it is to get out of our comfort zone and use the talents that we have an inkling we possess. The theme of individuality and living by our own rules is prevalent throughout the poems. I particularly like how she expressed the sentiment of wanting to conform to what the society expects us to do, but doing what we really want to do.
Being who we really are, whether it is a relationship or in our own self-beliefs.
On Social Media
Related to uniqueness is how social media affects our perception of ourselves and who we should be. Seeing people with thousands of followers often compels us to question ourselves about our content and how we can grow and reach more people. I wrote about social media previously when I was sharing my thoughts on Denise Wijayaratne’s Secrets to Being Amazing.
Allie captures these feelings of insecurity and the internal tug-of-war that goes on inside us, and in one line gives us the tool to combat it:
But your power comes from the unique ways you are you
Success is not about chasing the number of followers or likes. Success is about pursuing passion that makes us happy.
On Passion
I discovered my passion for bookblogging accidentally when I finally had time to read more and was looking for a way to write more as well. I found bookblogging allows me to capture both of these skills. Since starting, there have been times when I have wanted to be as good as the bookbloggers out there. They have been established for many years and these thoughts, of comparing myself with others, as well as wanting to do more, even though I’m giving it out all have, have been haunting me periodically.
Allie’s words have given me direction – to slow down and savour where I am right now:
Don’t rush your blooming – the process of growth is what makes life so mysteriously enticing. Remember all that it has taken for you to arrive in this moment.
I’m looking forward to seeing where I go with bookblogging and the things I learn from the books I’m reading. Allie’s The Rose That Blooms in the Night is one such special book.
Overall, I look forward to going back to this collection in the future. I’m thankful to the publisher and author for providing me with an advanced reader copy via NetGalley. It has been a pleasure reading the poems and engaging in deeper thinking – exactly what I envision poetry to help me with. 🙂 It surely quenched my thirst for more poetry after Frank Prem‘s Devil in the Wind.
** The Rose That Blooms in the Night by Allie Michelle is out on the 15th of October. Below are the pre-order links. Once you have the book, do let me know what you think. **
Amazon Print
Amazon Kindle
Cover image: Photo by Doug Kelley on Unsplash
Image of rose on pages: Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
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