I Saw You As A Flower: A Poetry Collection

by Ellen Everett

There is a time for everything— a time to wither, a time to grow, and a time to blossom. I Saw You As A Flower is a poetry collection that encompasses heartbreak, growth, and finding love. These poems are for those who love too deeply, for those who break too easily, and for those who continue to rise— time and time again. Ellen Everett's words enable readers to confront their deepest sorrows and piece together the parts that are broken. This is a story of heartbreak and love— but more importantly, a story of overcoming, empowerment, and survival.

Genres: Poetry, Love, Romance, Nonfiction, Ebooks, Contemporary, United States

204 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 29, 2018

Reviews

[Bel Rodrigues · Rating 2 out of 5]

"are you okay

they ask

i respond as quickly
as i can
so they will not
notice the earthquakes
in my voice
or the tsunamis
in my eyes
or the drought
in my heart"

[Helena (helenareadsxx) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this and glad that I have Kindle Unlimited to read loads of poetry for free :)

[Eлина · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shout out to Rupi Kaur for paving the way of Facebook/Tumblr Enter-button-hitting poets.

I'm sorry, but you can't tell me that 5 words on 3 separate paragraphs is a poem.

It's
just
not.
Period.

Apart from the lackluster format, the poems seem shallow (and not like Gaga's "Shallow") and resolve around the same topics of love and despair (but not like Neruda's). Oh, and how could I forget the flowers - this book is like a not so "Secret Garden" (you get the joke already).

It's a boot for me.

[Renata · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, nothing too much but neither the worse. I enjoyed the majority of them but I couldn’t get the “story” or love it. But anyway, lately I love to pick this type of books because it help me to calm down and feel productive because I end them pretty fast.

[Ally Guay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had 31 highlights. 31! Something in this poetry collection hit me right in the heart 31 times. It was an amazing read.

[Jenni Sauer · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so beautiful. I cried and cried reading it, both from heartbreak and from happiness. This book is magic. I'm definitely going to be buying a paperback so I can read it over and over again

This is part a book about heartbreak and part about healing and hope. It's...well, much the same as every poetry book in terms of themes xD But this one stood out to me as so much more ❤️ It just really touched me. The author has such a beautiful way with words

Would definitely recommend this one, 10/10

[Chey · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I run out of Instagram captions I’ll just take them from here

[selin · Rating 1 out of 5]

some "poetry books" need to stay inside of your diary instead of wasting paper and publishing it - like this one.

[katelyn ❀ · Rating 4 out of 5]

kindle unlimited is feeding me with poetry & i’m not complaining

[mar✰ · Rating 4 out of 5]

"i did not know
that simply
hearing someone
say your name
could make oceans
fill my tear ducts"

[readorables · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adore the flower imagery and everything related to nature. I’m imagining reading her love poems on a flower bed with different beautiful colour 💓

[Rachel Nicole Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful

This is a lovely, floral, and beautiful collection of poetry. I recommend it, most definitely 💕 read it, if you love poetry or not.

Xo,
Rach

[guille (littlebitmoody) · Rating 3 out of 5]

love the using of flowers as metaphors. but apart from that, pretty basic, i feel like I’ve already read this.

[freyleyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not my favourite, couldn’t connect to these unfortunately

[Shea ☾⚂ · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

if i become
anything in my lifetime
let it be the wind

what a wondrous thing
to be felt

without being seen
∼
the beautiful thing about humans
is that we are
living and dying
simultaneously
∼
my tone-deaf heart
sings symphonies
for you
∼
isn't it beautiful
how the trees breathe
so we can exist
∼
the center of my happiness
dearest,
you are my equador
∼
and know that we were infinite
in the moment that you were mine
∼
speak to me
in lilacs and lace
for that is
the language
i know best
∼
let us liove like flowers

wild and beautiful
and drenched in sun
∼
and again
i go to bed early
because it hurts too much
to stay awake
∼
you told me to love myself
but then showed me
why i shouldn't
∼
how painful it is
for my brain to forget
what my heart longs to remember
and remember
what my heart longs to forget
∼
my heart is
either waning or waxing
and i am tired
of waiting
for it to be full

[Mouse · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I were to teach a lesson on what I dislike in a collection of poetry, I would use this book as the prime example. It feels soulless and lazy. Excuse me while I shake and cry on the ground while repeating the phrase “the Rupi Kaur-ification of contemporary poetry” over and over again.

[akacya ❦ · Rating 4 out of 5]

there were definitely clichés in some of these poems, but otherwise this book had some great poetry<3

[Marion · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely collection.
Here are some of my favourites:

I am leaving my mistakes behind me
As shadows of who I was but not of who I will become
That is the beautiful thing with shadows
They will always fall behind you when you face the sun
And to the sun, I'm running

Like a roll of film
It is in darkness
That you develop your colors

She calls me her miracle
But it was her body
Not mine
That was ripped apart
So I could live
-A mother's love

Lastly, the poem that brought me here:

If you're looking for forever,
I'll take the batteries out of my clocks.
So that we'll be stuck inside this moment,
As if time had really stopped.
I would tell you I love you every second,
Except here, seconds do not exist.
So I'll say I love you with each breath, with each smile, with each kiss.
And when I die, you can crank your watch, restart your clocks, begin the time.
And know that we were infinite
In the moment that you were mine.

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

''we are all flowers
underneath the same sun

we bloom
in an array of
colours.
shapes.
sizes.

-this is what makes the garden so beautiful ''

This is the most beautiful poetry book I ever read. I always dog-ear pages that really affect me, which was pretty much every page of this book. I love how all poems are in the same style, really form an ensemble and all made so much sense. And there we so many beautiful metaphors, especially about flowers.

[niamh braithwaite · Rating 3 out of 5]

this was both beautiful and heartbreaking. it lacked depth imo but sometimes simplicity speaks volumes. none of it will particularly stick with me but i still enjoyed it none the less🤍

“chapters of your life will end, but you have multitudes of pages left in your book. and so many books after that.”

[Kintanah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I particularly appreciate this poetry collection, compared to all those I have read before. Maybe one among other reasons is the hope that the author proclaimed in the middle of the heartbreak, and the hope is Jesus.
Besides, I can't call myself a flower lover but I really appreciate the imagery of flowers throughout the book.

[Vinay Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are some beautiful poems in this book, and I've noted and marked quite a few to revisit. One of the poems I loved was

i believe in miracles,
and i hope that you do too.
because if you don't believe that they exist,
then you don't believe in you.

[salma · Rating 2 out of 5]

2/5 and I’m being generous. Most of the poems were meh, some quite repetitive. The ones about “God loves you” and “you’re my Jesus” cringed the hell out of me.
Regardless, there were some good/decent ones. I wouldn’t recommend this book.

[Elizabeth Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun little read with my morning coffee. I did appreciate the little flower theme. It was lovely. There were different styles throughout the collection and that was nice to see. A handful of poems really stuck out to me overall but the majority were just enjoyable to read.

[Sara Van De Moere · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s giving Instagram/Tik Tok poetry. Best part was the constant theme of flowers and nature throughout.

[Mimona Masarwa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It has a lot of deep lines and a very emotional feels.
I think I would like to reread it anytime!
It's very short but very worth reading, enjoyable, and powerful.

[Hanna K. Brojan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5⭐️

[kennedy ; cy · Rating 1 out of 5]

writing sentences spaced out or randomly breaking them off into new paragraphs does not a poem make.

“i love
the sun too much
to give it up
for someone
who is nocturnal”

[Michelle M · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the way Everett uses nature as an inspiration to write beautiful poetry.