Sometimes, in These Places

What happens when poetry, "rises off the cracked surface of grief?" Rebecca Watkins explores both the grief and what rises in her newest collection, SOMETIMES, IN THESE PLACES. Through her thematic exploration of drug addiction, poverty, reticent religion, loneliness, and family, there is, throughout this collection, a frank dialogue that deftly puts us in the dirt, without letting us get grimy. The smooth motion and gentle imagery feels both deeply personal and wildly relatable, tackling dark concepts with sophistication and grace. If feels as though Watkins wants to let us into her house, watch with her all the dark news stories of the day, and then let us leave without solving any of the world's problems. She doesn't tell us it's all going to be alright, or that there's hope in the world, she doesn't have a moral to the story. Rather, she looks at us square in the eye and says, "this is the way things are." Or, in her own words, "I see no footprints in the sand but my own."