On the Mend?

Ways To Get Over A Broken Heart
           Inspired by Carlos Antonio Rancano’s Evidence Or How To Get Over A Broken Heart

           by Dustin Brookshire

I.
Get lost in the woods.
Scream at the trees
and the goddamn birds.

Continued here.

*****

Angry, funny, slightly scary. I loved it. I found this poem by Dustin Brookshire at Diode Poetry Journal, and plan to order his chapbook Never Picked First for Play Time (Harbor Editions, 2023), based on the title alone. Also at Diode, I enjoyed Jason Koo's "Post-Honeymoon Reception" and its take on a variety of personal relationships.

The Poetry Friday roundup for May 3 is at author Buffy Silverman's blog.

Comments

[jan annino godown]

I read this new-to-me poet's fiercely held words at Diode & am sharing with a pal who
has this idea of will-never recover hearbreak.

I feel some of his thots [scream in the woods] for what's going on in the world. Appreciations.

[ps also saw he's included in the Dolly Parton anthology - that should be a sweet one to sit with....]

Bookseedstudio/Jan

[Tracey Kiff-Judson]

Oof! “Stay until you feel the choke!” I can just feel the heartbreak being wrenched away, or perhaps overridden, as I read Dustin’s suggestions for healing. Very powerful.

[Buffy Silverman]

Love the mixture of heartbreak and humor--this made me smile:
"Go to Costco.
Eat samples.
All the samples."

[Linda Mitchell]

Wow....all ways of feeling and feeling something different than the sadness. What a great poem. I feel a BTDT vibe when reading this.

[Irene Latham]

We've all been there, haven't we?! Thanks for sharing.

[Susan T.]

Jan, that Dolly Parton anthology sounds like a must-get, too.

Tracey, that's the line that I found scary because it hovers so close to something tragic.

Buffy, those lines=me! Very relatable.

Linda and Irene, for sure the BTDT feeling in this poem!

[Linda Baie]

Ah, love the way the anger flows, all good ideas, and I love "pull out the heart shards.
Drop them in the disposal." Exactly right! Thanks for the poem, wishing those who need it most could find it!

[Susan T.]

Linda, those are amazing lines, right? I'm so glad to have stumbled across this poem. Something else led me to Diode, maybe an old Ada Limón poem, so I went to see what was new.

[PATRICIA J FRANZ]

So love Brookshire's recommendations... I use that first stanza quite often actually -lol!

[Alan j Wright]

What an impressive array of suitable distractions and potential pathways to explore. Thanks for sharing this worthy piece of poetry, Susan.

[Mary Lee]

I love how over-the-top this is, and then...the last stanza! Lather, rinse, repeat. Give your heart, let it be broken, mend it and move on. YES!

[Rose Cappelli]

I agree, we have all been there and probably did many of these things. I also liked eating all the samples at Costco. So many emotions to help one get through the worst.

[Susan T.]

Patricia, Alan, Mary Lee, and Rose, thanks for stopping by! I wasn't heartbroken, but I did cuss at a bird the other day because it was a regular ole robin and I wanted it to be a migrating warbler. Not my finest birding moment!

[Denise Krebs]

Susan, you are right. Brookshire's poem is "Angry, funny, slightly scary". I think my favorite is the "meld a stronger heart" stanza VIII. Thank you for sharing this new poet. Enjoy his chapbook!
Denise

[Susan T.]

I like that line, too, Denise. Thanks for stopping by!

[Janice Scully]

Love the tone of this poem, the humor and pain together. Thanks for the intro to Brookshire work!

[Susan T.]

You are welcome!