Bouquet of bees

This poetry collection questions a person’s role within two family units: one given as a child, and one chosen as an adult. Speakers reflect on some familial experiences and learn how to reclaim their own voices and bodies as these two worlds collide. The majority of these poems are written in ordinary speech; this doesn’t mean the poems aren’t challenging. Newborns swaddle their parents, an esteemed cello steals human voices, and skirts turn into jellyfish. No matter what circumstance is unveiled, the speakers try to remember to handle their situations in a similar fashion: with risk, a sense of play, and compassion.M.F.A.Poems.by Laura Bernstei