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So Tall It Ends in Heaven: Poems
With lush and deeply intimate language, Jayme Ringleb’s debut collection So Tall It Ends in Heaven explores sexuality, estrangement, and the distances we travel for love.
Following the end of a marriage, So Tall It Ends in Heaven’s queer southern speaker tries to restore a relationship with his father. His father lives across an ocean, but more keeps them apart than just that: the father rejected his son long ago after learning that his son is gay. The poems search for answers across the United States and Europe, in and out of historical imagination, as the speaker struggles to separate his understanding of devotion and belonging from the constant losses in his life. Drawing from—and subverting—the formal traditions of love poems, parables, and elegies, the collection claims a vital space for one’s own solace. “Nobody will love you / like this poem does,” the speaker says; “Tell this poem / what you want. // Anything.”
In turns that are ruminative, funny, and tender, Jayme Ringleb’s debut collection questions what and whom one lets go of by coming out—can love, in all its complexities, ever be uncoupled from grief?
Following the end of a marriage, So Tall It Ends in Heaven’s queer southern speaker tries to restore a relationship with his father. His father lives across an ocean, but more keeps them apart than just that: the father rejected his son long ago after learning that his son is gay. The poems search for answers across the United States and Europe, in and out of historical imagination, as the speaker struggles to separate his understanding of devotion and belonging from the constant losses in his life. Drawing from—and subverting—the formal traditions of love poems, parables, and elegies, the collection claims a vital space for one’s own solace. “Nobody will love you / like this poem does,” the speaker says; “Tell this poem / what you want. // Anything.”
In turns that are ruminative, funny, and tender, Jayme Ringleb’s debut collection questions what and whom one lets go of by coming out—can love, in all its complexities, ever be uncoupled from grief?
104 pages, Paperback
First published September 20, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
December 27, 2023
The good one was really good. You decide which.
Finished up at Urgent Care, so it’s worth something just for that.
Finished up at Urgent Care, so it’s worth something just for that.
September 20, 2022
*I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
I didn't catch the author's drift here. While all the things mentioned are random, they are dully presented. The emotions aren't captured well. Poetry is just a hit or miss. This was a miss for me.
Things mentioned:
Feathered goat, Satan's favorite idiot chicken, a real man keeping his pocket watch in the folds of his heart, and a newborn pig unable to unfold its legs.
To top it off:
"This man I'm seeing thinks his nipples are baby-grape-shaped and pale as two sun-faded pencil top erasers..."
I didn't catch the author's drift here. While all the things mentioned are random, they are dully presented. The emotions aren't captured well. Poetry is just a hit or miss. This was a miss for me.
Things mentioned:
Feathered goat, Satan's favorite idiot chicken, a real man keeping his pocket watch in the folds of his heart, and a newborn pig unable to unfold its legs.
To top it off:
"This man I'm seeing thinks his nipples are baby-grape-shaped and pale as two sun-faded pencil top erasers..."
June 2, 2022
So Tall It Ends in Heaven features beautiful poems that give a sense of place and sometimes sadness. My favorite poem was "Threesome with Sea Monsters and Theft" -, which contained such a vivid imagery of the sea. There is quite a bit of references to God, but the poems are not overly religious. The poems would sometimes end with a phrase, only to have the next poem include the same phrase to start, so there was a fluidity to them.
May 6, 2022
I can tell I've read good poetry when I have to place down the book after reading a poem. I did that multiple times while reading this! A good mix of short almost stream of consciousness writing with longer poems. My favorites are: Mutius in the Garden of Rejection, A Wedding of Jackals, Panacea Florida, and Love Poem
March 3, 2023
i do not pretend to be smart enough to understand poetry but this was touching and enjoyable despite my lack of experience/enthusiasm for the field
Read
May 4, 2025“We sleep / in a snarl, like lovers found in snow.”
August 27, 2022
Love me some ITALY some ANIMALS some RELIGIOUS TRAUMA. When Jayme said "it's too easy to love the stars" in Love Poem to the Son My Father Wished For...
*sage nodding abt this book in general*
*sage nodding abt this book in general*
September 22, 2022
I was lucky enough to receive this beautiful poem collection by.Jayme Ringleb. These poems are incredibly touching and heartfelt. They deal with rejection and decision-making. In his quest to win his father's love and acceptance, a queer son must balance his want to be restored as the prodigal son with his need to be a man in his own flesh who is secure in his sexuality and appreciated for his choices.
In Love Poem to the Son My Father Wished For he says:
"If pause some nights when the sky seems particularly simple, the air barely carrying wafts of the neighbor's constant bonfires, the stars rubbed clean of their dull texture, if pause to name the stars, as if by naming them could love them more, I feel closer to you" Other favorites: Love Poem Against the Body, Ars Poetica for the Devil, Love Poem So Tall It Ends in Heaven and all the fantastic poetic prose that form the Part III.
In Love Poem to the Son My Father Wished For he says:
"If pause some nights when the sky seems particularly simple, the air barely carrying wafts of the neighbor's constant bonfires, the stars rubbed clean of their dull texture, if pause to name the stars, as if by naming them could love them more, I feel closer to you" Other favorites: Love Poem Against the Body, Ars Poetica for the Devil, Love Poem So Tall It Ends in Heaven and all the fantastic poetic prose that form the Part III.
November 19, 2022
So Tall It Ends In Heaven: Poems – Jayme Ringleb – (2022)
In this wonderful debut poetry collection, the love and longing that is explored is not for a lover, husband/partner, but for an absent father. As a teen, Ringleb was outed to his father by his rude insensitive mother when she produced “evidence” of their son’s same sex attraction. This, of course, was a life changing moment-- and Ringleb endured years of paternal estrangement as a result.
The introductory poem is based on a tune from Beirut-- Ringleb changes the wording from “My Wife Lost in the Wild” to “My Husband Lost in the Wild”— the poetic narrative abruptly shifts to his father loss with: “Love Poem To The Son My Father Wished For” where a father teaches his daughters about the parts of cars while his non-mechanically inclined son was noticeably absent.
The stages of romantic attraction are explored from boyhood to adulthood with involvement of a much older man: “Threesome With Sea Monsters and Theft” – “Game: We’re In Love”. The short poem “Ars Poetica”: “For a night/he tapped/like the devil/at my window/like he wanted returned/something I’d stolen” The tapping on the window was likely a tree branch, but the circle of salt around his bed had other implications in this superstitious original verse.
While driving in Eastern Washington state near the Gorge, the brown earthen rolling landscape of the Colombia Basin is really beautiful, as Ringleb observed: “The Man Who Fell In Love With The Moon” Readers aren’t surprised that his thoughts turn to his father as he props his duffel bag against his hotel refrigerator that doesn’t stay closed.
In Part III of the collection, a son travels abroad to Italy and drives along the Sicilian Coast following his father up a mountain, watching, as he is “swallowed by clouds”. The sea is a reoccurring focus of the storyline, which is evident in “Self Portrait as Medusa In Shock”. Eventually the father and son are reunited in a celebration with the father’s other family documented in the poem “Peacock At A Garden Party” and “Love Poem” where the son recalled his mantra of “say little heart” and his lasting affection for the healing powers of poetry. *With thanks to the Seattle Public Library.
In this wonderful debut poetry collection, the love and longing that is explored is not for a lover, husband/partner, but for an absent father. As a teen, Ringleb was outed to his father by his rude insensitive mother when she produced “evidence” of their son’s same sex attraction. This, of course, was a life changing moment-- and Ringleb endured years of paternal estrangement as a result.
The introductory poem is based on a tune from Beirut-- Ringleb changes the wording from “My Wife Lost in the Wild” to “My Husband Lost in the Wild”— the poetic narrative abruptly shifts to his father loss with: “Love Poem To The Son My Father Wished For” where a father teaches his daughters about the parts of cars while his non-mechanically inclined son was noticeably absent.
The stages of romantic attraction are explored from boyhood to adulthood with involvement of a much older man: “Threesome With Sea Monsters and Theft” – “Game: We’re In Love”. The short poem “Ars Poetica”: “For a night/he tapped/like the devil/at my window/like he wanted returned/something I’d stolen” The tapping on the window was likely a tree branch, but the circle of salt around his bed had other implications in this superstitious original verse.
While driving in Eastern Washington state near the Gorge, the brown earthen rolling landscape of the Colombia Basin is really beautiful, as Ringleb observed: “The Man Who Fell In Love With The Moon” Readers aren’t surprised that his thoughts turn to his father as he props his duffel bag against his hotel refrigerator that doesn’t stay closed.
In Part III of the collection, a son travels abroad to Italy and drives along the Sicilian Coast following his father up a mountain, watching, as he is “swallowed by clouds”. The sea is a reoccurring focus of the storyline, which is evident in “Self Portrait as Medusa In Shock”. Eventually the father and son are reunited in a celebration with the father’s other family documented in the poem “Peacock At A Garden Party” and “Love Poem” where the son recalled his mantra of “say little heart” and his lasting affection for the healing powers of poetry. *With thanks to the Seattle Public Library.
August 11, 2022
OVERALL
Overall, I thought this collection was the perfect length. I really respect the intentionality behind it.
WHAT I LIKED
I love how each poem had an individual theme but they were also cohesive as a collectoin.
I thought the order was well planned and helped take me on an emotional journey
I like the symbolism a lot
The collection feels super accessible, which is nice
My favorite piece was Love Poem to the Son My Father Wished For, which I thought was so raw and real. I also liked Game a lot. The title poem was also gorgeous
Most poems did a good job capturing very specific emotions in a very relatable way
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Sometimes, the formatting was kind of weird, which I wasn't a fan of but that's more of a personal preference
I didn't really understand why the collection was divided into parts. But, I thought the third one was strongest as a whole
Some poems felt very much like they were trying to be important and have quotable lines instead of just flowing naturally, but this was a rare thing
Overall, I thought this collection was the perfect length. I really respect the intentionality behind it.
WHAT I LIKED
I love how each poem had an individual theme but they were also cohesive as a collectoin.
I thought the order was well planned and helped take me on an emotional journey
I like the symbolism a lot
The collection feels super accessible, which is nice
My favorite piece was Love Poem to the Son My Father Wished For, which I thought was so raw and real. I also liked Game a lot. The title poem was also gorgeous
Most poems did a good job capturing very specific emotions in a very relatable way
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
Sometimes, the formatting was kind of weird, which I wasn't a fan of but that's more of a personal preference
I didn't really understand why the collection was divided into parts. But, I thought the third one was strongest as a whole
Some poems felt very much like they were trying to be important and have quotable lines instead of just flowing naturally, but this was a rare thing
February 14, 2023
There are some really amazing moments in this book that stood out to me, where the human felt so present and true, such as:
I don't know
what there is between a woman and a man,
but you know how to make the body submissive
and brave: when your father’s God asks you
to heat something small and metal—a ball bearing, maybe
a fishhook or drywall nail—over a fire, to keep it in fire
until it glows, and then to swallow it, you do.
Ringleb, Jayme. So Tall It Ends in Heaven: Poems (p. 14). Tin House Books. Kindle Edition.
Ringleb has really fantastic control--of language, of pause and release of information, of revealing pieces slowly and subtly. I didn't always feel I was able to enter the poems, but there were individual moments that felt absolutely lovely.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tin House for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
I don't know
what there is between a woman and a man,
but you know how to make the body submissive
and brave: when your father’s God asks you
to heat something small and metal—a ball bearing, maybe
a fishhook or drywall nail—over a fire, to keep it in fire
until it glows, and then to swallow it, you do.
Ringleb, Jayme. So Tall It Ends in Heaven: Poems (p. 14). Tin House Books. Kindle Edition.
Ringleb has really fantastic control--of language, of pause and release of information, of revealing pieces slowly and subtly. I didn't always feel I was able to enter the poems, but there were individual moments that felt absolutely lovely.
Thank you to NetGalley and Tin House for an advance reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.
June 27, 2022
ARC given by Edelweiss+ for Honest Review
A decent enough read but a bit boring when it comes to the themes. A little to religious for my tastes though that is my personal opinion. Fairly euro/american centric on the ideas of queerness and religion which doesn't ignite a lot of inspiration for me when it comes to poetry. I did really like the Italian heritage nods throughout, but outside of that I didn't feel connected with the author enough to really *like* the book.
Great for someone who is looking for metaphor rich classic style poetry and prose dealing with themes of gay romance and religion.
My favorite poems are: "Game", "Ars Poetica for the Devil", and "Ode for Dark Matter."
A decent enough read but a bit boring when it comes to the themes. A little to religious for my tastes though that is my personal opinion. Fairly euro/american centric on the ideas of queerness and religion which doesn't ignite a lot of inspiration for me when it comes to poetry. I did really like the Italian heritage nods throughout, but outside of that I didn't feel connected with the author enough to really *like* the book.
Great for someone who is looking for metaphor rich classic style poetry and prose dealing with themes of gay romance and religion.
My favorite poems are: "Game", "Ars Poetica for the Devil", and "Ode for Dark Matter."
March 23, 2025
A collection of poems about family, identity, queerness, religious, trauma, and survival.
from Maybe You Are a Certain Man: "Maybe you want a good man, // but you will have to break him. / You will have to / make fire and, like a dog, / wake him in the night // only to reassure him you are there. / He must be certain / you are always there, with him, / in the burning house."
from My Husband, Lost in the Wild: "I took al/ my tiniest veins // and pitched them / as a woven tightrope // out the kitchen window / and hooked, with // a makeshift grapple, the cheek / of the visible moon, which // carried me away, and I was sorry / to have wounded it like that, // and I was sorry to be carried / by what I had wounded."
from Maybe You Are a Certain Man: "Maybe you want a good man, // but you will have to break him. / You will have to / make fire and, like a dog, / wake him in the night // only to reassure him you are there. / He must be certain / you are always there, with him, / in the burning house."
from My Husband, Lost in the Wild: "I took al/ my tiniest veins // and pitched them / as a woven tightrope // out the kitchen window / and hooked, with // a makeshift grapple, the cheek / of the visible moon, which // carried me away, and I was sorry / to have wounded it like that, // and I was sorry to be carried / by what I had wounded."
June 11, 2022
Firstly, I want to thank the publisher for allowing me to read an ebook copy For Advanced Readers.
However, I don't think the synopsis for this was written well on Net Galley. If it had been more explanative, I likely would not have requested it. I don't think I'm the right audience for this book. Which is why I don't feel very nice leaving it a one star review.
I didn't feel connected to any of the poems. There was some interesting phrases That I enjoyed. But in total I didn't love the book.
Also a major issue was the formatting. It was hard to tell where one poem ended And another began. This was all way throughout the book.
However, I don't think the synopsis for this was written well on Net Galley. If it had been more explanative, I likely would not have requested it. I don't think I'm the right audience for this book. Which is why I don't feel very nice leaving it a one star review.
I didn't feel connected to any of the poems. There was some interesting phrases That I enjoyed. But in total I didn't love the book.
Also a major issue was the formatting. It was hard to tell where one poem ended And another began. This was all way throughout the book.
didn-t-like
November 21, 2022Disclaimer: I received this book for free through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I didn't catch the author's drift here. While all the things mentioned are random, they are dully presented. The emotions aren't captured well. Poetry is just a hit or miss. This was a miss for me.
Things mentioned:
Feathered goat, Satan's favorite idiot chicken, a real man keeping his pocket watch in the folds of his heart, and a newborn pig unable to unfold its legs.
To top it off:
"This man I'm seeing thinks his nipples are baby-grape-shaped and pale as two sun-faded pencil top erasers..."
I didn't catch the author's drift here. While all the things mentioned are random, they are dully presented. The emotions aren't captured well. Poetry is just a hit or miss. This was a miss for me.
Things mentioned:
Feathered goat, Satan's favorite idiot chicken, a real man keeping his pocket watch in the folds of his heart, and a newborn pig unable to unfold its legs.
To top it off:
"This man I'm seeing thinks his nipples are baby-grape-shaped and pale as two sun-faded pencil top erasers..."
April 12, 2024
slow / like a tree. / It's almost a heaven, / neglecting you.
good little quiet read :) there's the tropes i'm avoidant of reading deep in re: damnation in name of love but i think there were still really sweet twists in language. however comma i feel the back of cover synopsis makes it feel more narrative than it is. much more high quality negative space :)
Forgive me / if the self is best / when falling out of love
good little quiet read :) there's the tropes i'm avoidant of reading deep in re: damnation in name of love but i think there were still really sweet twists in language. however comma i feel the back of cover synopsis makes it feel more narrative than it is. much more high quality negative space :)
Forgive me / if the self is best / when falling out of love
Read
August 7, 2024my favorites were:
-My Husband, Lost in the Wild
-I Was, of Course
-Love Poem So Tall It Ends in Heaven
-Ode for Dark Matter
-Love Poem
“Revolve around it
this way:
Alone and alive.
Remember
you are equal to
anything equal to the earth.”
“He wanted / just to keep his earthliness with him / in hell this is the only prerequisite”
“Forgive me
If the self is best
when falling out of love
with the self,”
-My Husband, Lost in the Wild
-I Was, of Course
-Love Poem So Tall It Ends in Heaven
-Ode for Dark Matter
-Love Poem
“Revolve around it
this way:
Alone and alive.
Remember
you are equal to
anything equal to the earth.”
“He wanted / just to keep his earthliness with him / in hell this is the only prerequisite”
“Forgive me
If the self is best
when falling out of love
with the self,”
Read
September 15, 2022I will confess that some of the book's meta-plot/theme of a son reconciling with his father slipped by me while reading, but I really enjoyed the collection nonetheless. The language is rich in detail without being florid, very readable and the queer themes are subtler in many poems but there nonetheless.
May 14, 2025
Really breathtaking surrealist images that brush past you like a breeze and leave behind a stronger feeling than a simple straightforward story would. They feel effortless yet clearly are the result of enormous care and work. I especially treasure the poems that are meditations on breakups. Highly recommend this collection of poems.
December 24, 2022
For my fellow readers with religious guilt. This collection is about a queer poet striving to reconnect with his father after coming out and being rejected. Ringleb breathes new life into love poems, elegies, and parables as he tries to make sense of and reconcile with his devotion and his loss.
December 2, 2022
These will not be my favorites, but they are very readable.
July 9, 2023
as far from prosaic as poetic could be
October 19, 2023
This collection is just astonishing. Ten out of ten. I'm recommending it to everyone.
April 23, 2024
A lot of it was very lofty and seemingly random (I probably just didn’t understand it) but the parts I could grasp made me go “woah.” As if he was in my mind.
December 28, 2024
screaming crying throwing up
April 25, 2025
This "Hard-won, triumphant debut" seems more tired and cloying.
January 14, 2023
This is an amazing book of poetry. Every single piece is well thought out and engaging. You can find a few poems online on Poetry Foundation if you want to dip your toes in the water. I’m sure you’ll run to the book store after that.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews