If My Body Could Speak by Blythe Baird is another Button Poetry book. Button Poetry has some of my favorite poets due to their range of subjects, poets and the fact they can be listened to as they are spoken word/slam poems or can be read.
Baird’s poems can be relatable, even if you have never experienced the things Baird has had to go through. Which range from growing up to her sexual assaults, her eating disorder, her relationships (with family and those around her), her family themselves and her last, but not least, her sexuality. Each poem is mostly a short poem that is packed with solid, powerful, even beautiful images. Even beautiful when talking of the ugly she experienced.
While I did not come away with a favorite poem, I highlighted several lines in several poems. One of my favorites deals with her desire to go back to “being sick” or her eating disorder. It was an honest thought about a piece of herself. This and other images created pop of the page. They are easy to read but are filled with a deeper meaning. Nothing is just on the surface when it comes to Baird’ and her writing. Her title poem has lines that will make you laugh and cry. Sometimes at the same time. She leaves nothing out of her poems, she even writes how she writes poetry about her assaults and wants to change.
Each poem has a modern voice, speaks of modern issues, but also deals with issues woman have dealt with for years. She speaks to many different readers on different levels.