Catherine Hamrick isn't a poet I've come across before. I'm glad I got a copy of The Tears of Things: Poems as it's a gem of a collection.

Hamrick avoids the showy and clever in favour of details (like Elizabeth Bishop in some ways) — telling the reader names of flowers, fish and places, for example.

Her understated style works wonders to keep us captivated and it's a hugely enjoyable read, split into seasons, each with varying landscapes and moods.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing this wonderful book.

Hamrick's The Tears of Things follows the cycle of the seasons and is grounded beautifully in nature. The poems are evocative and craft seasons of darkness, light, adventure, loss, grief, and love through even pacing. Personal favourites of mine were: 'Iowa Dreams' and 'Chattahoochee: Songs I Never Heard till Now' for how immersed I felt in the speaker's surroundings, nostalgia and memory. The only parts I found lacking in this collection were the prose pieces - they were stilted, with too many run on sentences.

Catherine Hamrick uses the medium of poetry to help her through many of life’s challenges, by writing in various formats the emotions deeply felt at that particular moment of time. In her collection of pieces, The Tears of Things, written over a number of years she has captured so many or almost all of the issues faced, thoughts felt and challenges overcome in simple, flowing prose.
Divided into seasons of the year, with an addition, The Fifth Season, which encompasses those different, unusual and accepting times that do not fit into any one ‘box’, so to speak, with each singular piece, one of carefully constructed words as the thoughts, situations and feelings are considered, consulted and arrive, to become a permanent fixture.
Tucked away within the pieces which in essence are sombre, dealing with death, changing relationships and health issues are the witty little pieces such as Fat Tuesday Freeze, the quirky Origami Storm and the slightly rebellious Through Irish Eyes.
These are the hidden gems of life that make the intolerable, tolerable and life slightly less serious. The beautifully written House Finches is more prose than poetry but celebrates the birth of new life, a season and garden emerging from the harshness of winter.
The Tears of Things is not a work to be taken lightly; it is one that should be read carefully, at leisure, piece by piece to allow the sentiment to resonate, offering a time to reflect on the vagaries of life; to accept that all things do eventually pass.

This collection of poems was so beautifully written.
I truly enjoyed it.

While I can't say I always understood everything the author wanted to portray, the way this was written with careful descriptions, metaphors, and mentions of specific details painted a nostalgic picture in my head, truly specific for every season.

I just felt these poems in a way I can not describe here. The feelings of each seasonal change, the nostalgia, longing for childhood and our family and loves.

I loved this read.

Thank you to NetGalley, publisher and author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.