Some Things I Still Can't Tell You: Poems Library Edition

by Misha Collins (Narrator)

#1 PUBLISHERS WEEKLY BESTSELLER!  USA TODAY Bestseller!

This book is a compilation of small observations and musings. It's filled with moments of reflection and a love letter to simple passing a simple blade of grass on the sidewalk, the freedom of peeing outdoors late at night, or the way a hand-built ceramic mug feels when it's full of warm tea on a chilly morning. It's a catalog and a compendium that examines the complicated experience of being all too human and interacting with a complex, confounding, breathtaking world ... and a reminder to stop and be awake and alive in yourself.
 

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Audiobook, Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Supernatural

Audio CD

First published October 12, 2021

About the author

Dmitri "Misha" Collins is an actor, author, and activist focused on inspiring change through art and by gamifying civic engagement and social good. Misha was a lead on Supernatural, the longest-running sci-fi/fantasy series in U.S. history, where he portrayed the angel Castiel. When not in front of the camera, Misha connects with his millions of social media followers to promote social change through projects like GISH, his Guinness World Record-setting global scavenger hunt that fosters creative mayhem to inspire social activism, and Random Acts, his nonprofit, which has raised millions to complete grassroots charitable projects.

Misha is a published poet and author of bestselling book The Adventurous Eaters Club. A University of Chicago graduate with a B.A. in Social Theory, Misha is a former White House intern who has campaigned extensively for progressive candidates nationwide, working as a surrogate for the Clinton and Biden teams, Stacey Abrams, and other national leaders. In his spare time, he enjoys baking, woodworking, and making fun of corrupt politicians.

Reviews

[sashi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I hope this was healing for him, because reading it made me feel like the couch in a therapists office. Absorbing too much personal information in silent discomfort.

[miracle · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Shaghayegh · Rating 2 out of 5]

داشتم نگاهی به ریویوهای قبلیم مینداختم؛ به اینکه از چه چیزهایی حرف زدم. من از دوره‌ی طولانی افسردگیم، از آخرین شب دنیا، از بیماری عزیزترین کسم، از گریه‌دارترین شب زندگیم، از احساس ناامنیم تو گذشته، از جدال با خودم و از مسائلی نوشتم که شاید اگر با میشا آشنا نمی‌شدم و حسم بهش انقدر خالصانه نبود، حتی تصور به اشتراک گذاشتنشون هم سخت و غیرممکن به نظر می‌رسید.
اما با وجود همه‌ی این‌ها من نمی‌تونم از همون کسی بگم که باعث شد خونریزی قلبم رو در قالب کلمات پیاده کنم. از نوشته‌هاش و کاری که با بودنش با من می‌کنه. کلمات از پس شخم‌زدن گذشته‌ی وحشتناکم تا حدودی برمیان؛ اما از پس از تو گفتن... نه.
چیزهایی هست که نمی‌تونم بهت بگم.
چیزهایی هست که نمی‌تونی درکش کنی.
چیزهایی هست که همون نقطه‌چین باقی می‌مونن.
اگر شقایقی الان می‌نویسه به خاطر وجود توئه؛ هر چند که هیچ‌وقت نمی‌تونه دینش رو بهت ادا کنه چون از پس دو خط نوشتن ازت هم برنمیاد...

[Lauren James]

[Gifted]
A tender collection of love poetry to the world. Very vulnerable and at times very painfully revealing, this is a simple and strong encapsulation of a life.

[jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I cry in my bed every night too, Misha; you’re not special.

[Alana King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've just finished my second read through of this book and it's hard to put all of my love for it into words, but I'll give it a try.

Misha has created a collection of poems that paint very open, real, and raw stories of the human experience. His poetry is deeply personal, and doesn't shy away from difficult topics. Certain poems will make you pause and perhaps examine the way you move about the world.

Each section is structured in such a way that the flow of the poems in itself tells a story. Littered throughout the sections is a deep appreciation for all aspects of life, big and small.

I can't recommend enough that you pick up this book, it's one that I foresee myself going back to again and again to re-read.

ARC provided through NetGalley for review purposes.

[AxxelWayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, it was a very average poetry book. As the author said, it's just small observations he has made over the years and he compiled them into poetry and to be honest, it reads as such. I like poetry that allows the reader to delve beyond surface level but in all honesty most of the poems just felt very one dimensional to me. I half expected to see something similar to 'family is relatives'.

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some Things I Still Can't Tell You is a collection of Poems by Misha Collins and I listened to the audio narrated by Misha Collins.

This collection of six sections contains poems of love and life (Love Poems, HopeJoyRunning and Other Good Things, LongingSadnessRunning and Foreboding, My People and Other People, The Parents, The Kids), the writer's life, so honest, touchable, and heartwarming. To my surprise, there is no sign of betrayal or cheating in this collection.

The poems are beautifully positive and emotional, my favorite part was KIDS, we should cherish the time we have to share with them.

The audio was great and short (57 minutes). Narrating by the author himself was excellent and so touching.

Many thanks to Andrews McMeel Audio via NetGalley for the ARC, I have given my honest review.

[jessica · Rating 1 out of 5]

misha where's the erotic poetry

[Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always found poetry pretentious. There are so many ways to manipulate and finagle the prose, the very nature of the medium almost begs you to do so, and yet it’s all felt bland. Similar. Like if you’ve read one, you’ve read them all.

Misha Collins’ collection is, to say the least, not that.

Admittedly, I’m a longtime fan of Misha. I’ve gone to fan conventions to meet him, GISH’ed more times in the last decade than I haven’t (and boy, isn’t that a strange thought), and supported him from my little anonymous corner of the internet. When I heard he was publishing a book of poems, I was thrilled! This man is one of the most intelligent and well-lived human beings I’ve ever stumbled across and the concept of picking his brain was thrilling, even if it was just the corners he allowed the light to touch.

After reading his collection, I can safely say there wasn’t a crevice of his soul left in the dark. More times than I can count, I sat stunned that anyone would allow the public such open access to his thoughts and feelings. It was like he opened floodgates and poured every ounce of himself onto paper, then handed it to the public. I laughed, I cried, I was in danger of crashing my car because I couldn’t stop thinking about his words.

Each poem is its own and yet they all tie together beautifully, both in and out of their “sections”. I cannot wait to hold a physical copy (or two) in my hands to run over with a fine-tooth comb and discover each layer he hid in ink whorls. Whether you’re an avid consumer of poetry or tend to steer clear like me, this collection is beautiful and worth the read.

[Daina Fullmer · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[brittany · Rating 1 out of 5]

yikes. i mean am i literally the only person on the planet that didn’t enjoy this? i didn’t tab a single poem??? none of this felt like poetry?? i’ve never seen supernatural and i held to biases so maybe that played a part? omfg i don’t know i’m sorry to anyone who loves this but it didn’t feel like poetry it felt like a diary of thoughts. i could’ve gone my whole life without reading this and it wouldn’t have affected anything. damn that’s a lot from me to cause i don’t think i’ve ever not enjoyed a book of a poetry but i guess there’s a first for everything???

[Tyler Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emotional and heart-breaking, and while I know it's not about me, having lost my husband earlier this year, some of it hit me really hard. And I cried.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

So anyway.

The drama surrounding this book, JEEZ u know. It's fine. In some ways, if I hadn't been privy to the drama, the "oh my god did u see that misha and his wife separated two months before the book is released, leaked in the acknowledgements, i probably would have been like: yeah, this is fine. But now, I'm conflicted.

Because on the one hand -- based on MC's social media behavior over the last year, it really does feel like he's monetizing his divorce. On the other hand, this is a really solid book of poems. As with all poetry books there are some that stick out as much better than others and some which are just not very good at all. The ones that are good -- precise, evocative imagery, suggestive and careful in tone and feeling -- are often undercut by a certain amount of insecurity in his own work, with a final line that insists on the point he's making, instead of letting us, me, the reader of his work, actually spend some time with the poem and puzzle it out, which is part of the fun of poetry. And yet, the poem is still good.

Part of me really wants to either HATE or LOVE this book, to be able to mock it (my top two pastimes are getting enraged about poetry and enraged about supernatural drama, so this is like, the perfect opportunity to combine these hobbies), but I don't feel that way. I just LIKE it. The poems that are presumably about his ex-wife are filled with a deep, human amount of sadness and the poems about his kids are legitimately touching. Whatever my misgivings about Misha as a person are, he's like, actually fully human here and also a half way decent poet.

[Carrie (brightbeautifulthings) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t consider myself much of a poetry person, but let’s be real: I bought this because Misha Collins wrote it, and he’ll always have my heart after Supernatural. Fortunately, these poems are perfectly accessible to non-poetry people. They’re deceptively simple in style without the random, stacked spacing that drives me nuts about a lot of modern poetry. The content runs through a number of topics, from love and running to parents and parenting. As strange as it’s going to sound coming from me, I enjoyed the love poems the most (“The Kiss,” “Leg Wrestlers,” “The Mother of Learning,” “June Second”). There’s something so soft about a thirty-year romance with the same person, growing together all that time and knowing each other’s shadows and contours. Knowing that he’d since separated with his wife brought me to tears a couple times, while other poems had me laughing out loud, so I got the full emotional spectrum from this. (Look at me, feeling my feelings like a real girl.)

Collins notes that he often writes his poems over breakfast, and they read like that: little asides and observations and contemplations about the world, something you would read or write over morning coffee. What I love most about this collection is how very, simply human it is. He has a gift for noticing the small, beautiful (or sad) things in life that often get overlooked. If you’ve ever noticed flowers blooming and somehow felt reassured by it, if you’ve ever had an encounter with a stranger who said something offhand that ended up feeling profound, if you’ve ever lain in bed crying without knowing why, then you’ll find something in this collection that feels like yourself. Aside from the love poems, a couple of my favorites were "These Days" and “Men In Woods.” It’s quietly heartfelt and a gentle reminder that life is as lovely as it is sad or difficult or frustrating, if only we remember to look for those moments of grace. Thank you for sharing something so personal with us. 💛

I review regularly at brightbeautifulthings.tumblr.com.

[Rachelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I know sweetness,
You've been carrying those bones
For a long time."


Something I've come to learn this year is how to slow down and truly savor poetry, I've never been a fan, never truly understood what all the fuss was about. Honestly I'm only starting to grasp that poetry is a bit like peeking behind the curtain into someones soul.

This little book is so beautifully vulnerable, and as I expected nothing less than amazing from Misha Collins, of course he delivered that and more.

[CG. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished Misha's poetry collection: Some Things I Still Can't Tell You. And it was insightful and personal, sometimes to a very private degree. But I actually enjoyed the deep dive into Misha and his struggles, because it gave me a really intimate look into his psyche. It's beautiful how much trust went into publishing these particular poems. Poetry is always personal (art typically is). I find Misha as a person to be insanely interesting and at times, hard to read. He's adventurous and hates monotony, but is also fascinated in the quiet mundane pleasures that life has to offer.
He's just one of the most uniquely gorgeous people that I've loved getting to know, (in a parasocial way of course.)
Misha apparently wrote one of the poems from Cas's perspective, but I can't for the life of me figure out which one it is, and Misha hasn't stated which one it was publicly. So I'm left to speculate which poem it could possibly be.

However, I have a few guesses:

Downpour.
Men in Woods.
In Passing.

And I thought it could be The Empty, based on the title. But surprisingly, The Empty seemed too distinct a memory, to be about Cas to me.

Men in Woods seemed too personal and descriptive, and could very well be a Supernatural poem, but I personally think it's about something/someone else.

In Passing seems like a real epiphany Misha's experienced.

My instincts are telling me that it's most likely: Downpour.
The poem reads as follows:

Downpour.

"Time flies" an old friend told me today.
But maybe time slips through god's fingers,
Runs down his arms and legs,
And pools on the ground at his feet,
Each moment evaporating,
Condensing and falling back
To us as rain
And the whole time, we think things like,
"Poor me,"
When instead
We could turn our bodies outdoors,
Feel the warm rain on our skin,
And watch the skies
Open for all of us.



(In retrospect, it could very well be "Men in Woods."
"He's going to burn me a copy". Like, how Dean made a mixtape for Cas in the show? Eh? 👀
I guess I'd initially thought it could've also been about Misha's childhood friend, Darius. Or the roommate he had in college...
But most likely considering the title is "Men in Woods" and we all know Cas and Dean to be featured in woods prominently throughout the show, namely during their time in Purgatory, AND The Mixtape, seems like a dead giveaway now. 🤦 *Facepalm*
But again, that's merely speculation.)

[Emma Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t mind this book of poems, but man I felt like I shouldn’t be reading it, such private thoughts meant for the deepest of conversations with trusted souls or a the release of a weighted breath after being told in a therapist’s office. I appreciate the rawness in his words and you can really feel that in a few of them.

That being said not all of them were as good as others, some of the poems in this are (and I hate to say it) mediocre at best.
It’s was good but it wasn’t great, if you’re a fan of SPN or just as Misha Collins as an actor/person I’d say give it a go. You learn so much about him through this work and I kinda wanna give him a hug.

Thank you to Misha Collins for sharing the deepest and darkest parts of your soul with the readers, I’m sad it wasn’t more to my taste.

Favourite poems:
Devil in the details pg. 15
Suddenly pg. 47
These days pg. 77
Taxi pg. 108
3 stars. 🌟🌟🌟

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

من اصلا اهل شعر خوندن نیستم ولی باید اینو میخوندم.
تا الان هرچی ریویو دیدم گفتن که خیلی شعر های دردناکی داره این کتاب و به هر دلیلی که بود من زیاد نتونستم اون بخش رو پیدا/درک کنم. اما واقعا چنتا شعر قشنگ داشت که از خوندشون خوشحالم.
این کتاب بیشتر یه جوز زندگینامست و واقعا از اینکه تونستم کمی بیشتر با یکی از بازیگرهای مورد علاقم اشنا شم خوشحالم 3>

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

An impressive debut collection. In turns vulnerable and nostalgic, joyful and funny, self reflective and slightly concerning, Some Things I Still Can't Tell You captures a well lived life in snapshot poems. The dry wit and humor is exactly what fans of the author's other work will expect, but the stunningly visual prose really stands out. It's surprisingly atmospheric, as a whole, and evokes a strong emotional response throughout. Fans will recognize a few poems that have been previously released on their own, such as June Second, Old Bones and Present. Tense. The structure of the collection breathes new life into these familiar poems though, and provides context that will have even old fans ruminating on lines long since memorized. The author plays with structure, both of individual poems and the collection overall, even occasionally referencing back on itself, which makes multiple read throughs especially satisfying.

I dearly hope that this is merely the first book of poems that Misha Collins puts out, because his talent for writing poetry is undeniable.

Thank you to Andrews McMeel for providing me with an advanced copy to review.

[maddy ☕️🎧 · Rating 2 out of 5]

“I have to remember to
Be grateful for me.”
I absolutely adore Misha and am always blown away by his different projects and talents (this man can do anything!!). Each of these poems have misha written all over them; in every word and line. Yes obviously because they’re his and he wrote them, but they gave off this general “Misha” vibe I get when watching his videos of reading his poems, telling stories, etc. It’s hard to put that feeing into words but if I had to choose a few they would be: content, comfort, aware, and connected.
The reason for 3 stars is that these particular poems just felt more monologuey (yes I just made that a word) and story telling commentary. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but just different then the poetry I normally read/ go for. I couldn’t relate as much to these poems, instead only relating to particular lines/ parts of the poem instead.
At the end of the day, the cover is beautiful, the poems are personal and well written, and it will always have a special place on my shelf. <3

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were very few poems that really stood out and made their way into my heart. A lot of them just lacked substance and felt pretty dull and one-dimensional, at least for me. I liked it as a whole, just couldn't grasp whatever meaningful essence was behind the writing of the majority of the poems. Mind you, probably it was just me...

[Thérèse · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars.

I feel like Misha Collins has a lot of potential, but most of these poems did not cut it for me. I know that this opinion is unpopular, but oh, well.

[EBTESAM · Rating 5 out of 5]

میشا و کتابش ،
هم خودش هم نوشته هاش هم بازیگریش هم اهنگاش هم ویدیوهاش ، همیشه همه کاراش روزمو میسازه ، پس این کتاب هم ازین قاعده مستثنی نبود :)♡

با این کتاب پرونده کتابای 2022 رو میبندم .

[ajš(a) ⋆౨ৎ˚ ࣪ · Rating 3 out of 5]

sometimes it felt like he was trauma dumping on me, sometimes it felt like i needed to trauma dump after reading a poem

[Grace Ahles · Rating 1 out of 5]

bro this sucks

[Alison Diem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly? Not as pretentious or weird as I was expecting, and it's clear to me just how pretentious my expectations were, lol.

A few of these poems made me tear up, getting more than a little emotional, esp. the last few, and his kids.

The poem "Marder" is a gorgeous piece, expressing the connection and love for our beat friends. This hit me harder than even some of the love poems that were clearly about his relationship/romance with his wife, expressing a different type of devotion, love, and "romance".

Will need to re-read the whole thing, prob. a few times, and really marinate in the work.

Damn it, Misha. You do this, every time. ❤️

[Molly Morris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m pretty surprised this book is so highly rated and wonder if that would be the case if the author wasn’t already famous. There are a few poems with some meaning behind them but most of them are like a journal in poem form. Rather dull.

[Sam · Rating 1 out of 5]

This simply isn’t good poetry.

[Natasha M. Nurse, Esq. · Rating 3 out of 5]

What an eclectic poetry book. I'm very happy I found this at the library. Read it and share your thoughts please 😁