Be Careful, These Words Might Kill You

Book Review: Words That Kill

Words That Kill

by Vivid Vega

2017.

Genre: Poetry

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Summary:

Words That Kill is a collection of poetry about one’s breaking point. Vega’s poetry centers on rhyme scheme. Themes included are depression, anxiety, abuse, body dysmorphic disorder, hope, and love.

The collection is split into three chapters, Sticks and Stones, which deals with the rise of the Words That Kill, followed with Last Breath, the climax of the breaking point, and lastly, I See the Light, which deals with hope and love surrounding the darkness of the pain caused by the Words That Kill.

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My Thoughts:

The overall theme and feel of the poems strike a chord with me, as I can relate to many of the emotions that the author is feeling. Depression. Anxiety. Hopelessness. The messages that I see popping up in these poems, again and again, include ‘I have no voice’, ‘My inner demons are slowly killing me’ and ‘I am not good enough.’  

Many of the poems speak of domestic abuse and the scars that it leaves. Instances of self-mutilation and suicidal thoughts are also constant. Whether the reader has had similar experiences or not, the raw emotion screams from many of the pages and it leaves one effectively empathizing with the author.

The last part of the book is called I See Light. These poems are meant to offer hope to the reader as the author reasons there is always light to be found that can cut through the darkest hour if only one looks hard enough.

The author uses the last pages to share poems of love and devotion, including one for a beloved pet.  While poems such as the one included for the pet might seem to be losing focus of the central idea, I feel that they are in fact a nice addition to the final chapter, in that they are direct examples of the hope and light that the author is trying to find.

Layout:

I thought the book was super cool and unique when I first opened it.  Black pages!  That isn’t very common!  The author also includes their own original art, which is an added bonus.

My biggest problem with the layout of this book would be the dark gray font that was used for the poem-within-a-poem concept (a bit hard to read against the black page); which brings me to…

Hidden Poems:

A poem hidden within another poem. Almost all the poems have certain words that are printed in dark gray, which can be read together as a single sentence to reveal a hidden meaning or afterthought of the main poem. I liked to think of the dark gray words as a good title to the main poem. It’s clever, but, going back to the layout, I really do wish the color of the font was a little lighter, so it’s easier to read.

Overall: 

I think this book is worth the read, particularly for those of us who struggle with many of the same mental health problems that so many of the poems in this book address.

I also recommend it for those who have a loved one that suffers from depression or anxiety. I believe this poetry book opens a window into the minds of those of us who struggle, and it’s important for those who are trying to connect or understand.

I feel that Vivid Vega definitely puts all of her heart and soul into these poems and I look forward to reading more of her work.

Favorite poem:

My dearest Rose

My heart you stole

You’re like a book of prose

Writing yourself into my soul

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Writing Challenge

Can you write a poem within a poem?

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Check out more from Vivid Vega on Tumblr

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