Derived From Us

by Grace Burns

"In Derived From Us, love is something both impossible and inevitable. As distance and as transformation, as renewal and as lack, each poem depicts a different one of love's many faces set against a backdrop of adolescent discovery. Melancholy but not maudlin, and passionate without excess, Burns portrays a world tinted the same vivid blue as a pure Arctic glacier." - Amber Later (Writer/ Poet)

Genres: Poetry

70 pages, Paperback

Published March 27, 2024

Reviews

[Ava · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was stunning.

My favorite lines:

I've seen my face only twice,
Once indifferently and then almost blindly,
She of what I could not be, Me of whom I could not love,
My blame is in the sweetness of time.

I'm dancing with divorce, I want to see how fast she'll run.

My prolific stanzas of gibberish, How I would trade my spoons for you.

Suppose I do deserve deception, Stars, at times, appear to fall

I love you loveless,
For honesty is like nightmares, a crucifix, And the sonnet is dead

[isa · Rating 5 out of 5]

“do you leave forgetful of me? the virgin and the arms of her mother”
actually gut wrenching, grace burns if you have no fans im dead. every word was literal gold.

[Charlotte Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

“For the day I bring my angels around...
My big bureaucratic shoulder is to the wheel, Smiling through our human war,
I've given you all, And I've got nothing,
I'm taking off my clothes now, Kneeling in the space we met,
Mascara's still on,
Can't remember where it's from.”

[Kaamya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deeply vivid reminders to embrace our complex egos and lead with patience and presence. Each piece an entry into a new intuitive recollection, voiced with attentive care to one’s body, mind, and spirit. - Love love love!

“My big bureaucratic shoulder is to the wheel, smiling through our human war”

“My blame is in the sweetness of time.”

“I’ll never taste lust in life, daisies take my mouth.”

“So what if my limbs are spent? There’s strength in the unstrung”

“To watch and to be watched which is the watcher when one is watching from afar two watchers instead of one life of another a shared space to live and to be watched”

“Believe me, I was benevolent, Negotiating the differences between dreams and desires”

“But loving is gentle, I kiss my cup when I drink my coffee.”

#proud 💥💗

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Youth in love, collectively, in admiration and in pain. Love as it is present and absent from ourselves, with others, in society. Love not as a feeling but as a state of being, we are love.

“Be calm, be calm
From within my own tyranny, I hated his heart”

“The black horse is gone, And with him goes meaning,
As in love as love can be,
Why can't loving yourself be this easy?
Bleed,
Can't let myself leave,
All that I see is him, think of him, dream of him,
All that I am is love for him.”

[shiza · Rating 4 out of 5]

beautiful! now for me, poems often need multiple reads of them to stick, as i haven’t really given the genre a try (i know, im trying to read more poetry i promise!). for these poems though, I know I’ll definitely be revisiting this collection as I move throughout life.

some fave lines:

Long Live My Love
“As in love as love can be,
Why can’t loving yourself be this easy?”

My Face
“I’ve seen my face only twice,
Once indifferently and then almost blindly,”
“I had no language for anger except confession,
Men seem to argue honor,”

My River
“Move this human body to the stream,
It’s already stained the river.”

And the poems “Simple Things To Overcome”, “How Delicate I’d Have To Be”, “Blameless Legs Part 2”, “I Kiss My Cup When I Drink My Coffee” and “The Birds” are ones I particularly resonated with in their entirety. lovely writing.

[Sophie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and so complex! She is amazing. These poems are amazing.

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

tried to love it but just couldn’t get into it.

[Holly Foreman · Rating 4 out of 5]

stunning stunning stunning. grace burns never stop sharing your art art with the world

[Marnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A short but beautiful read. Truly can't wait for her to publish more poetry, it feeds my soul!

[Sage · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love. it's so beautiful

"Do you think I'm beautiful, or do you think I'm grey?"

[molly!! · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love you grace burns

[orla · Rating 5 out of 5]

Life changing. So sad I’ll never get to read it again for the first time

[Emma Cody · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best poetry book of the decade. Filled with so much heart and vulnerability. Grace Burns is an inspiration to Young girls of today

[amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

i already know i’m going to reread this so so many times
such beautiful writing i can’t choose a favourite

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Eyes are red with frenzied flame,
Fear only what I face myself”

Grace Burns I adore your writing almost as much as I adore you

[Jessica Millington · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this in a few hours, some substance to the poems but not the best I've read

[Cassie slater · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautifully written words
"playing the part; im stupid, im easy. be the good girl anything but sleazy."
"as in love as love can be, why can't loving yourself be this easy?"

[Maureen Bennett · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this book felt like wading through a dense fog of pretension. The convoluted metaphors seem more concerned with sounding profound than actually conveying emotion or insight.

It felt as if the author was desperately trying to impress. I didn't feel any depth or emotion from work, just seems like she was imitating rather than trying to bring anything new or original.

This poetry book is an unfortunate and exhausting experience.

[Ana Luiza · Rating 5 out of 5]

so so so good! — in fact, more than good! it’s GRACEful.

i devoured it in a few minutes, i’m impacted and extremely impressed. never stop writing!!! i want more, more and more and moreeee.