Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You
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Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You is a quiet and surprisingly vulnerable collection of poetry from Misha Collins, focusing on life’s smallest moments. I paired it with a glass of red wine because what better to drink when you’re somehow simultaneously filled with love for the life you have and soul crushingly lonely?
Reading poetry is always a very personal experience, and different people will have different takeaways after reading the same poem or collection. Misha Collins grouped his poems into 6 chapters - some very personal (love poems to his wife) and others broader (going for a run). If I were a parent I suspect I would have loved the last two chapters about his own parents and kids, but as it was the first half of the book was my favorite. What jumped out to me were Misha Collins’ love poems - written primarily about his wife of 30 years, who he had recently separated from. Many of them felt so personal that it almost felt rude to keep turning to the next page, but I couldn't put it down. Most love poems I've read in the past are about new love, young love, or the drama of a short but intense relationship. These poems were written over the course of years before being pulled together for the collection, but they all beautifully capture the feeling of long term love. Some are the quiet moments of comfort knowing you're with your person. Some are the moments where you see your partner with fresh eyes and appreciation in a flash of wonder. And some are the moments of crushing loneliness because even though you have a fulfilling life and a wonderful partner, you've grown apart and don't know if or how to fix it. Its possibly the quietest collection of love poems I've ever read, but its also the first I've wanted to come back to and revisit.
