In this debut poetry collection, artist and storyteller Will Rhem Jr. transforms pain into poetry and memory into meaning. Abandoned Gardens Still Grow is a raw, lyrical meditation on healing, identity, queerness, Blackness, mental health, and becoming — told with unflinching honesty and grace.
Divided into four elemental sections — The Soil, The Seeds, The Water, and The Light — the collection guides readers through the author’s inner world, unearthing childhood trauma, reclaiming lost truths, and tending to the overgrown spaces of the heart.
Part memoir, part mirror, and wholly rooted in reflection, Abandoned Gardens Still Grow invites readers not just to witness one man's journey — but to reflect on their own. This is a book for the ones still growing.
There is much more to our blooms than meets the eye.