Poems by Christine Klocek-Lim

This beautifully speculative and poignantly real collection revolves around the themes of rebellion, grief, memory, and self-identity. Women, both young and old, rebel against societal expectations, sometimes even violently. Men and women alike experience the pain of grief, both inflicting and enduring it. The chapbook explores the idea of "life's raging fires 'trailing ashes / and regret / like embers'" and the loss of memory, described as "her heart's door…jammed / ajar because sometimes / bones warp after use." It delves into the complexities of knowing oneself, of acting in accordance with one's nature, and the understanding that "empires fall softly, like wax hardening / after the wick is gone." Christine Klocek-Lim, as she is known to do, breathes life and death into her imagery, leaving a lasting impression on the reader even after the final page has been turned.

Larina Warnock, the author of Guitar without Strings (The Lives You Touch Publications) and The Other Statistic (TEDxRoseburg), praises the collection, stating that it is "about life's raging fires 'trailing ashes / and regret / like embers.'" The chapbook, she notes, is also "about memory and the loss of memory 'and her heart's door…jammed / ajar because sometimes / bones warp after use.'" Moreover, Warnock highlights the work's exploration of the themes of knowing oneself and acting in accordance with one's nature, as well as the understanding that "empires fall softly, like wax hardening / after the wick is gone." Overall, Warnock's assessment underscores the depth and poignancy of Klocek-Lim's writing, which she skillfully imbues with a sense of life and death.

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