4 out of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this poetry collection. I loved 3 or 4 of the poems and I liked the others immensely. Poetry collections are either hit or miss for me. This was a hit for me. Rudy Fransisco really takes his life and puts it on display in such a raw way. I love it.

Well, hello Button Poetry. I see you and I feel you. I couldn’t help but feel as though I was sitting down to a meal as I read this. The book is divided into four parts; the first is to whet your appetite with poems like Good Morning and Page (which I relate to because I face blank pages every morning when I sit down to write), the second part is more like when your family starts asking your date questions. They simply want to know a bit more about your date. The third part is the main dish. This is where your folks make it clear to your date that if they are not here to stay they’d better excuse themselves from the dinner table and leave for good. I’ll say Adrenaline Rush, 98, Liberty and Brother and if you do not get it then To the Man Standing in the Corner Holding the Sign That Said “God Hates Gays” packs a punch, he starts out by pointing out the ironies of life and flaws in our opinions and closes by "I want you to tell your God that my God is looking for him."
The final part is the dessert and in total you’ve got 17, 16, 17, 8 poems from each part respectively.
I’m off to check out his performances on YouTube.

Thank you NetGalley and Button Poetry books for sharing this awesome book with me, now, I need more of the author’s works and I hear that YouTube is a good place start.

Button Poetry. Again. Blown away.

Helium by Rudy Francisco – what can I say? If you haven’t already, head over to youtube and check out his performances. You’ll appreciate his soft tone and style so much more when you read this if you’re familiar with his spoken delivery. I’ve been a fan of Francisco for a little while now and he continues to blow me away with each piece in this book. Some of those included in this release are available on Button Poetry’s social media. I highly recommend listening to them as you read along. His poem, “Complainers” has been making its way around Facebook in recent days, so you may already have some idea of his work.

It would be impossible to pick a favorite. I read this in one sitting and it’s one I’ll return to time and time again. I’ll be pre-ordering a physical copy as well. Rudy manages to gracefully touch on many topics – race, gender roles, depression, masculinity, love, life, and the human condition as a whole. It’s a beautiful collection. He manages to take us down roads we didn’t know we were walking, finding hidden trails and paths we may not have seen without his guidance. It’s impossible to pick the best parts, as their all amazing, so I’m only including some random bits here. Some of my favorite sections are entirely too long for a review, so please, do yourself a favor and order this book today.

From “To Him”:
I’m just sorry that
she had to be your
fortune cookie.

Broken so you could
learn a lesson

You already
Should’ve known.


From “And Then After”:
I heard there’s a
woman in Palestine
who makes flower pots
out of used teargas grenades
From this I learned
the explosion
is not how the story
has to end.

Those are just snippets. There are so many others that are as great or better. Mercy, Ouch, To the Girl Who Works at Starbucks, Yes, and so many more. Five stars all around.


I received a free advanced digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This has no effect on my opinion, rating, or review.

This debut collection of poetry from Rudy Francisco impresses with insightful commentary and vivid imagery that sheds light on race, gender and the human condition itself!