Broken Flowers (Robert M. Drake/Vintage Wild) (Volume 5)

"Broken Flowers" by R.M. Drake is a collection of verse and poetry interwoven with full page pictures and short quotes. This time around, he published with Andrews McMeel Publishing, making the book a little smaller and easier to hold while still maintaining his signature interior and exterior design. As for content, the blurb across media states the collection "meditates on the subtle beauty of brokenness." I would say it does much more than that.My impression upon reading the first twenty or so pieces of his modern poems and prose was that the collection would feature outpourings of all the bits of wisdom Mr. Drake has learned throughout the years sans the lens of Tumblresque romanticism that abounds in social media's poets. I was pleasantly satisfied that, for the most part, that was indeed the case because the pretty sound of short verses never seemed to fit his voice quite right.Throughout this collection, Mr. Drake does not focus on longing and loving, nor happiness and beauty as much as he has done in the collections published prior to this. Rather, he focuses on friendship, memories, honesty, family, art, and surviving with simply written verses. He goes so far as to state what it is he craves now that the years have passed him by and the pull towards romanticism has lessened ("Manufacturing Love"). That is not to say there are no love poems here and there, but they are more of the type that you have seen him write before – more or less. The poems that are about what is listed above were the ones that truly felt alive. When reading them, it seemed he was just across the table imparting all his musings, unedited, unfiltered, and all through deliberate patience.Out of the 400+ pages of poems featured in this collection, a solid twenty poems moved me to tab them, to want to remember them. It has been about a week since I read the book yet these twenty are ones that I have gone back to reread. Among the twenty are two particular ones I would like to share.I Don't Know You AnymoreRobert M. DrakeWe are all fightingto be ourselvesin a world that tells uswho we should be.And it makes me wonderif I am in lovewith the real youor just the person youthink you are."I Don't Know You Anymore" is a poem that should be splashed across all social media. In this era, politics have to be dramatic to rake in viewers, therefore profit. Artists like actors and musicians have to be open to all options of advertising their brand to make it to a big screen or a platinum record whether they are comfortable with what that entails or not. The dangers for everyday people like you and I is that we too can feel the need to create a fake personality around coworkers, church folk, or family in order to fit in, to stand out, or to pay off. While that behavior is common in a high school setting where all students are still testing waters, when the pretending spills into adult life, that is crushing. Mr. Drake crafted a massive little verse to be a red flag, to give us all a way of looking at the subject through the eyes of people who love us. What is it like for them to hold close a mere version of you? Might you be missing someone who would love the true you by pretending?The Message I Wrote for MyselfRobert M. DrakeAnd there wasnothing left to hurt...That's how I knewit was over.And in the end,I belonged to myself,and I was finally ableto change—for me.The love I had inside medidn't belong to youor anyone I ever knew...It was all, ultimately,meant for me."The Message I Wrote for Myself" is a page of content that is polar opposite to a substantial portion of the poetry Mr. Drake has written concerning love. Whereas before his work would say something along the lines of "there's so much love in me for someone" or that he felt he had to be the support and anchor to someone else, this new piece poignantly states that it is more important to love yourself, to change yourself into who you want to be before going around to connect with someone else. This is immensely important to the generations that are still in middle school and high school—do not go around looking for a relationship or even best friends to "ground" your soul because only you can ground yourself. "Save Yourself," "Universe," and "The Things I Can't Tell Myself" are other pieces that expound on this subject.This collection further is Mr. Drake sharing his thoughts about many different themes. It cannot be summarized in a few words, and I enjoy that."Dear Mother," "This Is My Space," and "Real Is Real" are three examples of pieces that are commentary about the social media age. "People Killer" and "Violent Power" are two examples of commentary about the violence that has been going on around the world. There are also a few personal pieces to the people in his life.Overall, I recommend R.M. Drake's "Broken Flowers" collection to those that are familiar with his work and to those that are not. His style and content is slowly evolving into his best. If you never have picked up his work, this is the best collection to start with as of this year. It is the great poets of the past that used bitter reality to construct the poems that still fill classrooms and media today. I say Mr. Drake is getting there and that I greatly respect that he is branching his work out; he certainly has the potential. I look forward to the day when we may get a poem that is six or so pages long. That would be quite a wonderful work.As to those who are not keen on this new style, he has a message: "Filled In-Boxes."

If you have read and enjoyed any of his earlier poetry works: Black Butterfly, Beautiful and Damned, etc. you will love this as it is in the same style. If you haven't read any of his earlier works, I think you will enjoy it as well because he writes in such a succinct, human language. The relatability of his work always stands out to me: there is a poem in here that applies to everyone, in some form or fashion. He is, in my opinion, becoming one of the best poets in America today.

The book was good n had good time reading it

It never crossed my mind to purchase a poetry book but after reading a few examples in Instagram, I thought I would try it out. It definitely relates to the challenges and stumbling blocks that I am facing and the book has very inspirational and uplifting words.

He is one of my most favorite writers and this book reaffirms my feeling. He is full of inspiring ways of seeing things and is unmatched in delivery. I'm moved by his work and I own all of his books, and value every single word. A must own!

I felt the need to purchase Broken Flowers forever and finally did it. Im happy i did. Its impossible to leave any negative feedback for anything done by R.M. Drake. im looking forward to purchasing more of his work.

I had a love/dislike relationship with the book of poetry. As with most poems, some spoke to me and some didn't. Seemed like many of the poems were about being really hung up on someone, and it kept resonating throughout the book.

this was suppose to be a Christmas gift for me, but I couldn't wait to open it... so I've read it once and I'm packing it back up to read again after the holidays.

Robert M. Drake writes some of the most amazing poems I've ever read, Im in love with all of his books and can't wait for more!

Absolutely obsessed with Robert M Drake's work! Anyone that's a fan of beautifully written poetry that tugs on your heartstrings NEEDS this

What an amazing book ! I found plenty of poems that were just spot on. I could feel the pain, the joy, the despair and hope. The poems were hopeful and life is all about love and hope.I couldn't stop reading it. I finished the book in a day. It was just so inspiring. You can feel the author is growing thru every pages.

Gift for my daughter -

Awesome Book!!