{"product_id":"i-cant-recall-exactly-when-i-died-paperback","title":"I Can't Recall Exactly When I Died - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eDiane Elayne Dees\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eI Can't Recall Exactly When I Died\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003e \u003c\/i\u003eopens with a beautifully written poem framed within loneliness: the speaker must tackle the disintegration of everything. This metaphor for melancholy pushes through the collection. As the narrative moves from marriage to divorce, a realization arises: \"My body has an instinct to survive.\"\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the extraordinary \"Corona of Fragmentation,\" the destruction of the speaker's past is complete, though pieces linger like a memory tripwire. The next seven poems reinforce this as each last line deftly begins the next poem, threading pain into one long lament.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe last section finds the speaker pushing and pulling the weight of her past until the memories become unimportant. \"We pack our belongings \/ and go our separate ways, not even bothering \/ to calculate our impressive collection of faults.\" This is progress married to uncertainty. The excellent closing poem, \"My Ex and I Empty the Storage Unit,\" shows that hope and ambivalence coexist, and that is enough.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eChristine Klocek-Lim\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, editor of \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eAutumn Sky Poetry DAILY\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003eI Can't Recall Exactly When I Died, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e Diane Elayne Dees's words construct the walls and furnish the rooms of a house, allowing the reader to enter a space filled with varied emotions and frequent hauntings of various versions of one's former self. While the poems chronicle the visceral experience of a damaged marriage and the solitude after divorce, even I, as a never-married reader, felt a deep connection to the emotional sentiments expressed in the frankness of her poems. It is a treasured and sometimes teary-eyed collection to read alone, yet it is also the perfect collection to read out loud with a few friends over coffee or a good bottle of wine.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e-\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eKay Kestner\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e, editor of \u003ci\u003e\u003ci\u003ePoetry Breakfast\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 54\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.13 x 9 x 6 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e June 16, 2025\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":67580937994489,"sku":"9781639807529","price":27.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0789\/2782\/3097\/files\/Vycbkiw1S59781639807529.webp?v=1793656290","url":"https:\/\/bookscloud.io\/products\/i-cant-recall-exactly-when-i-died-paperback","provider":"BooksCloud Book Dropshipping","version":"1.0","type":"link"}