the delicacy of embracing spirals

Unabashedly earthly and raw, one feels as if they are falling in and out of each poem mimi tempestt sets forth in the delicacy of embracing spirals. 

From ancestors to absinthe, tempestt seamlessly swirls through an uneven balance of pleasure and perception. She not only reflects but indulges the reader to reflect, deflect, and analyze dynamics within family and, by extension, within one’s self.

She covers the fluidity of existence and the noticeable yet fleeting changes of our past, present and future selves converging. While reading I found myself laughing hysterically, crying, and confounded by the indignation I share about my own existence. The stagnation and pacing is a whirlwind of exhaustion and ecstasy; if life is but a moment, it is certainly captured in her imagery. the delicacy of embracing spirals does just that, nudging the audience to accept the ashamed and feared parts of ourselves with intimate and intricate snippets of life in poetic melancholy. 

I have yet to read a more captivating presentation on the performance of being a poet and by virtue, always seemingly being on stage. But make no mistake, the stage and everyone on it is a pointed critique of roles often projected as a misconstrued yet ignorant attempt to make a monolith of being Black and a woman. tempestt refuses to be bound or defined by any singularities and is not afraid to show all the ugly and unpleasant aspects of healing. The fluidity and sharpness of tempestt’s voice immerses the reader in every intentional, crude, and honest image she creates.

Oli Villescas 

POETRY EDITOR