This is an incredibly beautiful collection of poems. Knowing how open Misha can be on social media, it shouldn’t be a surprise that these poems feel deeply personal, but somehow, it is. I wasn’t expecting for Misha to bare his soul to the extent that I almost felt like I was intruding on private moments in his life. I applaud his bravery in sharing these parts of himself with an audience that includes a very voracious and judgmental fandom.

In the end, I was moved in many ways. This collection of poems made me feel deeply. There were things I could relate to, such as the need to just lie in bed and cry for seemingly no reason at all, or feeling deep love for a partner. There is a melancholy to this collection, but also humor and reflection. I enjoyed the poems that were nothing more than little observations about the world, and the way Misha seems to appreciate the little things all the way down to a single blade of grass . In the end, I felt deeply emotionally satisfied by the journey Misha had just taken me on, and I look forward to picking this collection up on rainy days when the world is bleak and I need to feel something.

First, a massive thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel for the arc in exchange for my honest review.

I, admittedly, am not an avid poetry reader. I enjoy the ones I have read, but I don't tend to go seeking it out. I knew this collection, from pretty much the moment it was announced, was going to be an exception.

Collins divides his collection of poems into six sections, spanning a wide variety of topics that all feel so deeply personal and honest I often felt like I was intruding on conversations and thoughts I had no right to bear witness to. The first section, titled 'love poems' is the section that will stick with me the longest. "The Center" in particular put such a lump in my throat and an ache in my chest I had to set my phone down to process.

Collins also writes about several of his "people" and those poems are some of my favorites in the collection. Particularly the one entitled 'Marder' near the end of the book. Its theme is admittedly a bit dark, but I adore it.

The other sections are equally lovely and soul-baring. Collins doesn't hide anything from the reader, again making you feel like a voyeur trespassing in his private thoughts. There are happy poems, incredibly heartwarming poems, poems that made my heart ache for him, poems that made me laugh out loud, and poems about feeling so sad for reasons you don't understand that you just curl up in a ball and cry. Collins really wrote about such a wide variety of situations and emotions that I feel like everyone will be able to gain something from this collection.

Poetry reader or not, definitely pick this collection up if you want to break your own heart a little and put it back together a bit more tender than it was before.

There is something to be said about letting your vulnerability show through written word. Misha Collins manages to produce a collection of poems that highlight both the mundane and the heartbreaking; a balanced work of love, longing, hope, and sadness. Poems written to both celebrate and immortalize memories. "Some Things I Still Can't Tell You" will leave you, ironically, lost for words, reeling from another's willingness to share themselves so openly, and feeling a little stripped raw yourself.

It's rare that a book of poetry can make you feel like you've taken the mental journey one partakes in when reading a work of prose.

"Some Things I Still Can't Tell You" not only accomplishes this feat, it actually does it better than some published novels.

The poems themselves are an eclectic fusion of light and darkness, spanning the spectrum from heartbroken to overjoyed. They cover beginnings, endings, and everything in between - and I do mean everything. Collins takes us to the edges of a blade of grass on the sidewalk, through a tunnel of fire during a run, and into the depths of the woods, camping and laughing with a cherished companion (who burns him a CD at the end). We travel with the author to various solitary hotel rooms, feeling the ache of life on the road. He allows the reader to eavesdrop on what is certainly a private phone call, and even drops a secret afterwards - just for us! (the person on the end of the line isn't even privy to hear the words).

Most poignant though, is the vulnerable and open invitation to see the deepest parts of the writer's heart in poems about his children, his 'people' (complicated and not so much), and his own fears and doubts when considering this little trip we're all on called life.

An introspective delight that will elicit both laughter and tears - this collection is a gift. Buy it, and keep it. You won't have any regrets.

Rare poets like Mary Oliver possess both the heart and mind to capture the simplistic beauty of a blade of grass just as well as they grasp the tiny, aching moments of painfully human experiences, and in this collection, it's easy to spot both Oliver's influence on Misha and his own standalone talent.

This collection is deeply honest and human, with seemingly no holds barred within the pages. There are soft, sunlit poems along sharp-edged lines that will feel like a swift punch to the gut. There's love, heartbreak, satisfaction, longing, simplicity, complexity, gratitude, and forgiveness. Some of the poems are relatively straightforward, while some seem to have layers and layers to break apart -- in honesty, my only regret is that I didn't have a hard copy to overwhelm with post-its and pencil marks.

The first "part" of this collection was my personal favorite, but I believe that any of the themed sections could connect just as deeply with the right reader, depending on your own preferences and experiences. If you've seen any of Misha's poetry before, I believe that what's available now is a solid representation of his overall style, so if you've enjoyed any piece of his (or even if you've never heard of him), I think you should give this book a shot.

5 stars to this one.

:)

[ GR review posted at goodreads.com/rych ]

Review of Some Things I Still Can’t Tell You by Misha Collins

NetGalley gave me access to an electronic advanced reader’s copy of this poetry collection. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Some things I still can’t tell you is a poetry collection written by Misha Collins. The collection is split into six sections about topics like running, joy, love, people in Collins’s life, and more. Some book features include an index with specific page numbers for each poem, a table of contents listing each section, and an acknowledgements page. This thoughtful collection is full of sadness and humor, and it’s written in a conversational style.

Some of my favorite poems in the collection are humorous ones like “Zen Morning” and more poignant poems like “I, Assassin” and “Present. Tense.” There’s a lot of variety here not only in terms of the emotions and topics of the poems, but also in terms of the actual shapes of the poems through word-placement. Each poem is different and interesting. Collins’s story-telling voice is striking, and his descriptions are vivid. This collection is fantastic.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

I’m a huge fan of Misha Collins, his acting, his charitable work, his personality. I did not know he wrote poetry, and I am so glad I found out.

This book is hauntingly beautiful. As a human being, as a wife, as a mother, I relate to so many poems in this book. It’s so interesting to be in the head of someone like Misha Collins, it makes him so much more normal.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend.