Reading Kristiana’s words places me somewhere between a melancholic stroll through the woods with light droplets of rain hitting my face, and a car drive late at night down a long stretch of road that feels familiar yet untravelled. In both instances, the world stops spinning, and time as I know it loses its meaning. From a single granule of sugar to a looming hundred-year-old tree, her poetry captivates the senses like a song from the past that has the ability to reach inside your chest and massage your heart in ways little else can. The images she conjures go beyond her tender years, for she displays a literary touch enabling her to balance a nostalgia for the past with a longing for what has yet to come that succeeds in allowing the reader to feel grounded in her poems at the same time as experiencing the freedom of mother nature’s graceful, yet wild touch. The romanticism she deals in is both haunting yet dazzling. The threat of darkness is a real one, yet is eased by the glow of a lighthouse, and this dance of contrasts is present on each and every page. There are times when I peer into a world that isn’t mine and am unsure as to where these footsteps will lead, and yet, strangely enough, I know the places she writes of well, for the marrow of her words is that of the marrow in my bones. From childhood wonder to adult regret; from dust-covered books to the warmth of a loved one’s embrace, these poems capture the myriad nuances that makes our journey through life the cherished miracle it is. As with her first collection of poetry, Between the Trees, Flowers on the Wall is not only a splendid volume to add to your collection, it’s a book that helps you make sense of the mysteries of life and love that might otherwise be out of reach.

Flowers on the Wall will be released at the beginning of August.

It is Kristiana Reed’s second poetry collection. 

Between the Trees UK

Between the Trees US

https://linktr.ee/KristianaReed