We Can Take the Power Back: A NEW Review of Thirsty Bones by Sarah Lilius (Blood Pudding Press, 2017)

Thirsty Bones is not for the fainthearted or those who want to bury the issues women face and live through everyday under the rug of oppression and silence. Sarah Lilius makes it so her reader cannot ignore these things...

As I read the poems “[  ] Culture” and “To My Rapist,” I thought about my own dark, hidden experiences as a woman and how I don’t know if I will ever be courageous enough to open my mouth and utter them. Thirsty Bones left me with the hope that maybe one day I will be able to share all my experiences as a woman, and that women around the world will be able to do so as well. Lilius shows us that we can face our demons and demolish them. We can take the power back. The last few stanzas of “[  ] Culture” exemplify this: “My silence, the place I hide, overgrown / with weeds, they smell fresh, / shaking their seeds from green heads. // Now it’s laid out like a snake suddenly / on a table, I want to cut off the head, / feed it to my rapist in the dark. // And when he screams NO, / maybe I’ll take it out or maybe / I’ll make him eat it / with open eyes.”

from a new review of  the poetry chapbook, Thirsty Bones by Sarah Lilius (Blood Pudding Press, 2017)

thank you to Christina Rosso and Rag Queen Periodical for this review.

Read the entire review HERE - https://www.ragqueenperiodical.com/single-post/2017/07/31/We-Can-Take-the-Power-Back-A-Review-of-Lilies-Thirsty-Bones

Acquire your own copy of Thirsty Bones HERE - https://www.etsy.com/listing/522735584/new-thirsty-bones-by-sarah-lilius-2017?ref=shop_home_feat_1