There are some absolutely gorgeous, breathtaking lines in this. Overall, though, the meaning is a bit too abstract, and it's hard to parse through what the author is trying to say. The gorgeous lines didn't always add up to a fully meaningful poem, which was a shame. The cover is gorgeous, and the author is obviously talented.

I love a thought-provoking collection of poetry. I am not too proud to admit that some of the poems in this collection, I had to re-read multiple times. Despite re-reading them, some of them were still over my head.
Part of the first poem really struck me: a phoenix doesn't know it's a phoenix until it is burned by fire and resurrected. That was a powerful gut punch. Another poem that stuck with me was the one about the paradox of thinking inside or outside the box.
These poems make you think about politics, about injustice and about the stark reality of life today.

this was a ok read, I'm not a big fan of poems and some of the poems were too long. I look forward to seeing the author grow.

there was no depth to this book it failed to fulfil the promise of it's title. I would not be tempted to any more from this author who promises much but delivers little

Overall, I thought this collection was very deep and insightful, and really made me think. As a whole, the collection is definitely politically focused with a left leaning view of social justice and current movements. This work is very timely and speaks to a lot of issues being currently discussed.

Each poem have many layers; there are surface level metaphors and analogies that reflect deeper social justice and political issues such as, but not limited to:
- police brutality
- gay rights
- representation
- suppression
- the right to privacy
- discrimination
- innocent until proven guilty

Because of the heavy and important topics, there is a lot that can be self-reflected on, whether is be your own reaction and experience to such issues or simply your stance and opinions. The poetry itself was decently done, and mostly free verse from what I could tell. Also, the author is a human rights lawyer, which makes sense for the topic and adds credibility and knowledge to the subject matter.

I enjoyed the collection, but personally the subject matter for poetry and free reading is out of my comfort zone, and not typically something I'd seek. The subject matter is definitely important, but to me it felt more academic than something I'd read for pleasure, and the poetry style didn't particular stand out or appeal to me via the syntax. Therefore, my rating is 3.5 stars. I liked it, but so far the specific poems haven't stuck to me (though the topics and themes definitely have; I can feel it in my head, if that makes sense).

Rating=3.5

This was the first time reading this author. It was an interesting read and I went in blind. Some of the entries were short while others seemed a little long.