Zero is the Whole I Fall into at Night

“Sometimes you forget what a poem should do, and it takes a gift to remind you. Thompson possesses such a gift. She tells us, there is safety in the body. She says, there are homes that are made of glass. Between those two spaces are the music that drives a world, the sadness & the tenderness. And then she writes us into Attica, into Beirut, into Tunisia. She writes us into the ache of motherhood, of regret and loss. Thompson captures so much of it, & lets it spill forth with a dignity that dares you to look in the direction it points, and remember that the gods get lonely.”

“I give this book of poems—three bows. Thompson writes about a life filled with hurt. She is a witness for the prosecution. She is a woman flying away. She is the last witness and the first lover. Sex is what she kisses before she falls asleep. She is a survivor like many readers and writers. When she adopts a child, home becomes a place of color. Thompson comes from a long line of cowbirds. After the pecking comes the poems. For this we are grateful.”

“Intimate. Lyrical. Sensual sounds animate this first collection of poetry by Becky Thompson. Her poems are a landscape of intellect and beauty. Welcome my dear sister, to this thing called poetry!”