This past summer I discovered the famous Sealey Chapbook Challenge. This challenge requires its takers to read 31 books in 31 days. While I certainly did not read 31 books in August, I did read 10 poetry chapbooks. One book I could simply not put down is Gravity by Lynne Schmidt. In this collection, Lynne opens up her soul, telling a poetic narrative about a romance gone sour.
The poems in this chapbook maintain a gravitational pull on the reader, fully entrenching us in her pain from cover to cover. During breakups many of us have our own solar system of emotions which Schmidt touches on with lines like, “its okay if this is a catastrophe now, because tomorrow might be a winning lottery ticket.” I think that line was so powerful for me, because it is one of the most relatable in this beautiful collection. Many times in relationships we put up with bad situations, day after day, hoping for a better tomorrow. In that moment of vulnerability we are often not our best selves ultimately becoming lost. but sometimes we overcome these bad relationships, saving ourselves in the end. This is the case for Schmidt in Gravity.
This chapbook is a perfect example of how people do not need a knight in shining armor to save ourselves, and that we can be our own hero.
Purchase your copy of Gravity from Nightingale & Sparrow