Welcome to Litsy!

One of many favorites from this author.

@Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
#LittensWantToKnow

My guy‘s birthday was last week, and Rudy Francisco happened to be performing about 2 hours away tonight. Pretty incredible night!!

I‘m a little torn on this one. I loved the first section. I found the poems in the second section kind of mediocre and eye-roll-y at times, then the rest of the book was a mixed bag—some fantastic poems and some just okay. Overall, I think Francisco is a young poet with a lot of promise. I‘m interested in hearing him read his work—he‘s a spoken word poet, so I feel like I‘m missing something by only experiencing his poems on the page.

I am learning that this body is not a shotgun.
I am learning that this body is not a pistol.
I am learning that a man is not defined
by what he can destroy.

I am learning that a person
who only knows how to fight
can only communicate in violence
and that shouldn‘t be anyone‘s first language.

—from “Rifle II”

“Instructions”

Gather your mistakes,
rinse them with honesty
and self-reflection,

let dry until you
can see every choice
and the regret
becomes brittle,

cover the
entire surface
in forgiveness,

remind yourself
that you are human

and this too
is a gift.

—Rudy Francisco

I think this is my favorite anything anyone has every written.

So I normally don't read much poetry but this year's #readingglasseschallenge has a poetry collection as one of the prompts. I picked this up on a recommendation and really enjoyed it! It has a lot of short, bite-sized poems that had powerful messages about love and loss and race and power. He uses a lot of metaphorical, lyrical language which I thought was beautiful.
This was my August #bookspin pick @TheAromaofBooks

A collection about love, heartbreak, discovery, race, racism, and anger. I don't read poetry. To love poetry you must love the language, I merely like the language. I don't know if these are artful, profound, or even good. I can't properly evaluate these poems. I am a poor judge of poetry. But I liked these poems, that read more like statements than poems. More like open thoughts than conclusions. A collection I could get behind.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (4.5/5)

“Helium” was my first experience with Rudy Francisco and it was a great one. Even though I couldn‘t connect with all of the poems, the majority were hard-hitting and covered topics such as life, love, depression, self-love, family, racism, and motivation. This was a great debut collection and I‘m looking forward to his follow-up and new release, “I‘ll Fly Away”.

🌊🌊🌊

I just didn't connect with this one at all.
Some of the poems were well written and I could see the soul behind them. But I just felt totally disconnected.

I did see in the Author's intro that Rudy is top of the game with Spoken Word Poetry, so maybe I should find a audio of this.

#BoutOfBooks #BoB29IGPhoto

I‘ve have had way more 5 star reads then I realized this year.

Helium was so good I read it twice.

Fangs hasn‘t been released but the ARC was everything I love in a book.

Little Moments of Love is super adorable.

The Graveyard Shift is a new part of one one my favorite series that I thought was over so to have a new bit was amazing.

The Sinner I spent the whole last 1/3 of this book screaming. It was so good.

Awesome poet, I also recommend watching him read in performance style (YouTube) very stirring. I love the way he see‘s the world. https://youtu.be/p8NVLq2fGLc

Another post of my library book e-book version. Forgot how much I love poems
#poetry #poems #poetrybooks #ebooks

Button Poetry is saving my life right now! 💕
#poetry #scribd

💙

Love me some Button Poetry. This one hits hard with me. #poetry #poetrymatters

From If I Was a Love Poet

“I've never been in the military,
but I have a purple heart:
I got it from beating myself up
over things that I can't fix.”
― Rudy Francisco, Helium, My Honest Poem

I Bet the Trees Are Thinking

Why did you leave?

😍😍😍

“If I was a love poet” read along with “To The Girl That Works In Starbucks...” it all makes sense together! The way he words his poetry to express his feeling in a deeper yet subtle way is beautiful. Big fan of his live performances and reading along with these poems in the book!

This is a great book of poetry that I stumbled across in my roommate's collection. He's a local author, too. I really enjoyed these poems.

#BookishBingo: Borrowed from a friend

1. They‘re pretending to be sweet
2. Poems from Helium, by Rudy Francisco
3. Art festival
4. Overcast and cool
5. No clue!

#friYayintro @howjessreads

I also like the opening line of Francisco‘s poem Good Morning:

“Get out of bed / The day has been / Asking about you.”

#RudyFrancisco #poetry #poetrymatters

💖

I needed this book today. Not all of the poems spoke to me, but most did. This excerpt, from a poem entitled Complainers, especially touched me.

I am in a very difficult situation right now and needed to hear this today. ❤️

So good. I‘ve listened to Rudy Francisco on Button Poetry for awhile. So glad I read this. Would recommend to everyone.

Book 97/165 3/17/19

#poetry

From “Adrenaline Rush”

Wow. Soaring through this collection. Each page better and better.

#poetry

#poetry

#poetry

Whenever I fall in love with a book of poetry, I always tell myself I'm going to go slowly and savor it but inevitably I gobble it up and this particular set of poems was delicious. Varying from light and lovely to dark touchstones of modern day, this was an amazing read and I'm so glad I bought it and get to keep it for myself. Highly recommend.

"Being black in America is knowing there's a thin line between a traffic stop and the cemetery."

Be kind to yourself 💕

Coconut cupcake and coffee for breakfast? Yes please! I've had this book of poetry on my list to read ever since I saw Rudy Francisco do a live reading of one of his entries and was blown away. Link below 👇
https://youtu.be/1E3Wr2AoEho

I am learning that this body is not a shotgun.
I am learning that this body is not a pistol.
I am learning that a man is not defined by what he can destroy.

Small book of poetry I‘m reading

Read all of his books. Watch all of his YouTube videos. Buy tickets to all of his shows. That's how amazing he is!

So amazing. The words are beautifully put together. Everyone should read this!

"...the heart is the same size as the fist, but we keep forgetting they don't have the same functions."

This chat book speaks to me on levels that make my chest hurt. The poetic honesty, the relatability, and I'm well aware that that's how poetry works. BUT there is something so obscenely human and identifiable with him and his work, at least for me. Especially since he doesn't trip you up with overly romanticized store bought words.

#poetry #poetrymonth #nationalpoetrymonth

💖

Museum
No one ever asks a museum
if it‘s doing okay.
So when you choose to spill like this,
bleed like this, cry like this,
your pain becomes an exhibit.
You hang your trauma on the wall,
ask patrons not to touch, but only
half of them respect the signs.
When you choose to be a poet,
you become a place that people walk through
and then leave when they are ready.