In a Dream You Saw a Way to Survive by Clementine von Radics

In a Dream You Saw a Way to Survive
Clementine Von Radics
Published 9th April 2019

Clementine has three collections out right now and this is her most recent one. I read it for my Charms OWL as it is national poetry month in America so I am trying to prioritise reading poetry over other books. The thing about her poetry is that it isn't the kind of poetry that helps people understand what those who suffer an abusive relationship go through. Instead her poetry make those who have felt the same as her feel seen. Due to this I didn't connect with a lot of her poems as I have never experienced abuse in any form. But the poems I did relate to hit my like a brick. She is incredible at what she does.
Obviously this poetry collection comes with trigger warnings for abuse but the abuse is never described, just the emotional decisions during and after her relationship.
I am going to give this collection of poems 4 out of 5 stars because her poetry is amazing but this collection doesn't write about a topic which i can relate to and therefore it didn't have the emotional hit that I look for in poetry. Clementine's writing style is very accessible so if you have never read poetry before but are interested I believe she is probably a good place to start.

A Bird Flew

I.

When my uncle died,
we held a funeral for him
and four people came.
He spent the last decade of his life
Drunk, living in a van
in the Fred Meyer parking lot,
but before that
he lived with my family.
When I was little
he taught me how to read,
how to make pancakes,
that the birds
in our neighbourhood
were doves,
and how to kill them
with a well-thrown rock.
But with each passing year
he became more dead dove
more flightless thing
more ghost
haunting living body.
After he got knocked
out of every bar in town
he couldn't stay
at our house anymore,
he washed up at our door
one too many times
slushmouthed and bloody.

II.

This man is my family.

He bought me a new book

every year on my birthday

even in the cold years

he could barely buy food.

It's shocking, isn't it?

The people we love

and all the different people

they can be.

He died two years ago.

I said his name this morning.

I swear,

somewhere a dove flew

before it met with a rock