Rest in the Mourning

by R.H. Sin

The calm before and after the storm. Rest in the Mourning is a steady and profound stream of conscious thoughts and emotion. Documenting unhealthy relationships and why the heart ends up in the hands of those deemed unworthy. It speaks to the heart's ability to hold on to relationships that no longer deserve our energy as well as what happens when we are ready to let go. Rest in the Mourning is about self-care and self-love.
 
 

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Feminism, Poetry Plays

Unknown Binding

First published December 6, 2016

Reviews

[Lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unfortunately, another underwhelming collection of poetry to join my growing list. Though it has some redeeming passages, Rest in the Mourning reads, on average, like nothing more than words strung together on the page. It is contradictory and confusing at worst while preachy at best.

Almost every poem deems man as a baseless figure and woman as the epitome of paradise. Now I love a good feminist message but this borders on unconventional sexism. If the gender roles were reversed, this surely would never have reached publication.

Beyond problematic elements, Rest in the Mourning's obtrusive feminist themes lack originality, echoing its same hollow message page after page after page. Like so many other poetry collections I've failed to enjoy, it attempts to convey meaning through structure and brevity as opposed to diction and seems to capitalize on teenage angst and relationship woes in the most colorless of ways.

In one poem, Sin mocks modern music for continuously associating love with pain, then mocks the film industry for solely showcasing relationships as blissful perfection, yet goes on to spend the entirety of his book deeming love as nothing more than a relationship between the innocent and the undeserving. Thus, instead of exploring its depth, Rest in the Mourning morphs the most complex of human emotion into yet another modern rendition of simplistic affection - ironically the very definition of love Sin mocks society for upholding.

Nietzsche summed it up best when he said: "They muddy the water to make it look deep."

[Giulia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I feel like I just read a tumblr master post about shitty relationship advice and life tips

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The overall rating... we start at 5 stars:
+1 star: the magic that compelled me to finish reading it
+1 star: the evocative quality of the text (thought that's probably just me being sleep-deprived)
-1 star: no capitalization whatsoever
-1 star: no punctuation
-1 star: quite a lot of it all is self-understanding:
Q:
you try your hardest to avoid
most of which
will hurt (c) I'm like, yeah, right. No over ever thought of that before.
The resultant overall rating: 4 stars (I'm being generous right now, probably).

Q:
you’ll find pain
searching for pleasure
you’ll discover hatred
on the path toward love
and there will be chaos
on the path that leads to peace (c)

[Paige · Rating 2 out of 5]

Upon reading the first few poems in this book, I was swooning! Finally, I had found some simple poems I could relate to and FEEL something when I read them.

Then I continued reading the poems and my excitement gradually turned into annoyance. While I do understand the theme and context of these poems, a lot of them fall into the same categories: bitching about relationships or telling women they can do better and blah blah feminism.

This book of poems felt like it was written by a fedora-wearing "nice guy" who is constantly telling girls he's a nice guy who they REALLY deserve while sprinkling in messages of consent in empowerment as a feeble attempt to get someone to love him. I digress, I'm being a bit harsh.

I also found a good amount of the poems to be brief. While there is nothing wrong with poems less than five lines, none of these were powerful enough to justify their brevity. If you're throwing a one sentence poem at me (multiple times), you better have me SHOOK.

I had high hopes for this book of poems and I did really enjoy about a dozen of them (out of like, 100!?), but overall I found the poems to be a bit too whiny and repetitive for my taste.

[Jakob J. 🎃 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just as well not to say anything about this one. I'm the antithesis of its target demographic, but god damn it reminded me how grateful I am that none of the pure shit I wrote at thirteen is available to the public.

Go read some Auden or Poe, kids.

[Anima · Rating 5 out of 5]

An emotional collection of poems which strongly made me feel a wave of pieces of broken glass taking over my heart: it made me see glimmers and sparks turning gray and dark, hear voices muffled by the cemented grave of the e- world we live in , smell the despicable odor coming out of the wounds of a heart invaded by a decomposed life. I have been deeply touched by the unbelievably real depicted images of the new meaning of the singular feelings of love. Using a clear and simple style to talk about the most profound feelings that define our existence as humans, Sin resonates perfectly with the incompatibility between love and the feeble carcass of the e-relationships.


"..."i miss you"
.....these words are often used
by men who will never make the effort
to show up."

"don't trust words
the only truth worth entertaining
lives within the actions of man"

"you've been drowning in a sea
of your own emotions

tears turn into high tides
waves of overtrust crashing
and destroying your peace of mind

you struggle beneath the moon
as the rest of the world falls
asleep

you're wide awake, restless
mind overflowing with thoughts
of giving up
who were you before the nights
when madness plagued your soul
who were you before what you
thought was love
caused you to lose control
.....
you find yourself smiling
while sadness soaks your soul
fits of laughter
just to keep the tears from falling
you've gotten so much better
at disguising you anguish

sometimes we wear masks so long
to hide what we truly feel
.........
and that's what you've become
your reflection is the lie...

even though you'd like
to keep your sadness at bay
fooling those who surround you
with the strength of your laughter
and the size of your smile

you can be honest with me
you can allow your tears to fall
upon these words.."

[Ai · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm pretty sure somebody's old MySpace page was completely plagiarized and published as this book.
Alternative title: Early 00s emo drivel

[Blythe D · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5 stars!

[emerald · Rating 5 out of 5]

“sometimes we wear masks so long
to hide what we truly feel
that those layers become
an extra skin, a part of our identity”

[Maha A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book came at the right time, I enjoyed reading it.

Sometimes we wear masks for so long
to hide what we truly feel
that those layers become
an extra skin, a part of our identity

[Paola · Rating 4 out of 5]

It felt like therapy

[Fernando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been reading all these poetry collections during a time I need them most. Rest In The Mourning is amazing.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cannot fault this mans work.

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this in a LFL a few months ago and then proceeded to let it collect dust in my shelves.
As one does with too many books and too little time.
Finally cracked it open yesterday and was immediately enveloped in the very first poem.
Some of the pages had been ripped out by a previous reader, which sucked, but only spurred my curiosity for what was missing.
There are some really good ones and some that sound like platitudes you would find in décor stores.
Overall I enjoyed the mood and sentiments the author portrays and was happy to find they have more work out in the world I had yet to discover.

[akacya ❦]

2023 reads: 139/350

[Ritika Chhabra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Follow Just A Girl High On Books for more reviews.

"Player is just a nice way of calling a man a whore."

So as of now, I have read this book twice. And no, that is not because I was in love with it. Instead, it is merely because I read the book earlier and did not review it. So, this time, I have decided to review it before I forget what it is about.

Firstly, what I would like to say about this book is that even though it is a contemporary poetry book, it is a nice one. I won't say that it did not remind me of Rupi Kaur because it did but I won't say that it appeared as bad as hers. Sure, Sin's topics were not as strong as Kaur's and well, her strong topics were the only thing that I loved about her but this was a nice decent read in itself, too!

Overall, Rest in the Mourning is a decent enough poetry book. There were some pretty nice ideas that were discussed throughout. Of course, there were many ideas that have been with us since a long time and Sin merely rephrased them to suit his needs. I didn't like that last part of it. Nor did I like the part that there was next to no punctuation used. I don't understand why contemporary poets think that they can simply let go of all sort of punctuation merely because they are writing poetry! Honestly, this irritates the hell out of me.

I admit that a lot of poems were relatable. It was all how relationships these days are but still, the ideas are all pretty old. Why don't we have anything new and exciting?

As a whole, it was a nice time pass so if you have nothing better to do, then you can surely pick up this book and have a nice time.

[Jay The Crippled God · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was reading this book in France - Strasborg in the breeze weather unlike our dessert hot skinning weather, which only added to it's sweetness.

Although I hated the man hating parts and the "woman is everything without a man" parts as well, I am still giving it a 5 star rating for the effort put in.

Some of the pieces included were really amazing and heart touching to the point that you might call it a spiritual experience ( GOD! I am intensely seeking these moments recently.)

The first, last and P. 26 poems/pieces where just epic. I just felt that most of the pieces where dedicated from me to my girlfriend or vise versa.

last note: Dear R.H. Sin, When I bought your book, I book the entire cluster with the three whiskey series and I JUST knew deep down that I wouldn't regret them and Here I stand by my statement. This is a pure thank you note.

Thank you lovely readers for dedicating ur precious time reading my review and I hope that It was to your liking. <3 Have an Epic cold breeze and a beautiful day <3

[Brittanyyy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As profound as this book is, I found it hard to classify it as poetry. It contained many phrases and statements that put feelings in a concise way but it didn't read or flow as poetry does. However, it is an easy read and some of the pieces truly hit close to home. I just have a hard time classifying it as poetry and reading and analyzing it as such.

[Sarah (TheLibrarysKeeper) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think its where I'm at currently in my life that nearly every single one of these poems really really spoke to me. Because of that, this book will always hold a special place in my bookshelf and heart.

"her greatest battles are fought after midnight, while alone she saves herself"

"let go
let it out
then let it be"

[Patty · Rating 3 out of 5]

** 3.5 stars **

[Ankit Garg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This collection of poetry starts like a 5-starrer book, but ends up being just a 2-starrer - meaning to say, there are quite a few very good poems but they are shadowed by a whole lot many average to below-average pieces, the ultimate result being not up to the expectations.

As the book progresses, it sounds more and more like a collection of musings one would write on their social media channels, and lesser and lesser like actual poetry.

Verdict: Skip this one.

[Kat Ice · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a great poem book but I could only give it three stars because I feel I read this in the wrong time in my life! If I read this when I left college I would have rated it higher! But I did love most of the writing and there were so many good quotes in there! I definitely will look into the rest of his books.

[Brianna · Rating 1 out of 5]

<1 ⭐️
Crappy relationship advice poetry. Whiny. Words strung together in Pinterest quote formats that are on someone’s revenge quote board (not mine). Pretends to be inside a woman’s mind, knowing her worth. Honestly, this may be the first poetry that has ever pissed me off while reading. Is that something? Nah.

[☘︎ elisabet ☘︎ · Rating 2 out of 5]

1.5 Stars, meaning this is one of the better L H Sin works.
favorite excerpt to write down in my notebook? ”women have the right to say no and men have no choice but to respect that”

[Anwar behbehani · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was gonna toss it away but it got me hooked from the first pages. Felt like it was talking to me and for me. Many pages were very relatable. Going to keep it.

[Ariana · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

Originally posted on: The Quirky Book Nerd

This is the second collection of Sin’s poetry that I’ve read and, like Algedonic, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It is formatted in the ever more prevalent style of writing very short poems or simple phrases rather than longer, multiple stanza poetry that most people are used to. It is a particularly tricky style to write well, as that type of poetry can come across as disjointed or shallow more easily than longer poems. However, when it is done well, it can be surprisingly powerful and touching. Though it did not captivate me in the way that Algedonic did, I still had a rather positive experience with Rest in the Mourning.

I have spoken in my other review about r.h. Sin’s talent for writing, and that shines through once again in this collection. His main focus is on the strength of women, but this still makes for a universally relatable read due to his beautiful writing and depiction of the common highs and lows of life. Sin knows how to simplify what can be very complex emotions, and the message he conveys is that of affirmation and strength. Just like the first experience I had with his work, I felt that he did a nice job of focusing on every human’s power to heal themselves in the midst or aftermath of hardship.

However, this collection, compared to his last, was not very unique. Every poem focuses either on women—or, less frequently, on himself—finding their true worth, and removing themselves from toxic relationships. There is nothing inherently wrong with the topic, but I feel that there needs to be some sort of variation, however small. You can still connect your topics together in some way to give the collection as a whole one theme, but I found none of that here. So while the way he worded things was beautiful, overall, every poem felt a little repetitive. I am still interested in reading more of his work, so I definitely will continue to do so.

[iana · Rating 3 out of 5]

rest in the mourning.
. . .
there is rest
in mourning
what no longer
deserves to be held by you

I gave this five stars back in March 2018 but alas, things are not the same. if I am not mistaken, this was the first R.H. Sin collection I read, though definitely the first I owned. I remember seeing it in a thrift store on the other side of the city, and it had been put up for about $10, but the lady at the register thought it was such a small book that she scanned it for half the price. of course, I was more than glad and did not object.

although this collection seems to no longer appeal to me as it did a year ago, I feel it would do best in the hands of my friend. all I could imagine throughout the reading—in one sitting, by the way—was my dearest friend, who I thought the contents of the collection were made for. it was all very much focused on cultivating a love we deserve, the sacrifices we'd have to make in order to get there and realizing the truth and peace of, really, the freedom it provides. it's a touching collection, fitting for the new year and decade. it will do wonders, I hope, with my buddy.

a hopeful ending.
. . .
don't think about what you lost
realize what you've gained
an opportunity to be loved
instead of taken for granted
another chance at love
that isn't filled with pain

[&#x1f338; Tana &#x1f338; · Rating 3 out of 5]

06/04/2019

O.W.L. readathon 2019
✔️Defence Against the Dark Arts: reducto, book starts with an R

Sometimes love
is the person who sees your mess
and has no problem
with helping you pick it all up

I enjoyed the positive poems, and some of them made me laugh out loud, for example:
a player is a nicer way of calling a man
a whore
because: true.

But then there were some poems where only women were put as the victims in a story where both genders could be. I've been seeing this a lot in poetry recently. Yes, abuse against women needs to be talked about, but there was one poem that made me boil a little inside.
women have the right to say no
and men have no choice
but to respect that

And yes, what is written is true. But what about every other possible gender? Does consent not count for them anyore?

Like I've said in other poetry reviews before: you can't run around screaming about equality while tearing down another gender in the process.

[Sarah Donovan · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of my 8th grade students called me over to her desk at the end of class. She lifted the cover of her binder and pointed to a sticky note. On it was the title of this book. She asked me if I had a copy in our classroom library. I didn't. She asked me if I could get it. I did. I'd like her and other teens to read this. I needed this when I was a teen making sense of flirting, love, rejection, mixed signals, manipulation--all the complexities of relating romantically while figuring out what love is. The verse addresses the intended reader --lots of you and we. The verse is filled with advice and lessons learned or being learned. The verse is direct with some rhyme but mostly free.

[Kristina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot to post this but I absolutely loved this one. I definetly cried at R.H. Sins work
I think my soul knew I needed this one.
Im definetly itching to pick up all of his collections.
I urge you if you're trying to move on from someone, to read this. it will tug at your heart strings, but there is wisdom here