Rise in Love: A Poetry Chapbook (Revised Edition)

By Selys Rivera

Revised Edition: Same poetic content you know and love, but with a few minor edits, an updated format, adjusted cover, and added praise!

 

Love is a mess and while some choose to clean and organize it, others choose to run around and play in it. There are different ways to love, ones to love, and kinds of love. So, let's fall in, rise out of, and be in love together.

With five sections (i.e. You, Them, Life, God, Me), "Rise in Love: A Poetry Chapbook" is a collection of poems celebrating the many nuances love has, reminding readers that just because love is complicated doesn't mean it can't also be wonderful. In a society where everyone is divided across justice-oriented issues, this collection emphasizes that love is what can bring us back together.

 

"A provocative debut collection of reflective and inspirational poetry that speaks to the soul. Rise in Love is intentional, emotional, and beautifully saturated with simple complexity. Ms. Rivera pens about You, Them, Life, God, and Me in a fresh, relatable way, resulting in a collection of works that is both genuine and authentic. Ms. Rivera has seamlessly blended love's coming-of-age pain with prose for a unique and personal experience that will stimulate memories and immerse readers." 

- Kerry Evelyn, author, "Crane's Cove" Series*

"[I]maginative, personal, and moving...Poetry comes from passion that is to be shared with others. Rivera's poems have heart. They are as visceral as they are thoughtful. A sly humor at times. I might have written 'Grateful Existence' myself, at 22. How many have been in the same place? Now 82, still grateful." 

- Diana Morley, author, "Spreading Like Water" and "Splashing"

 

*Received a copy from the author in the hopes of an honest review.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Worth a Read Too, LLC.
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393325093

Selys Rivera

Originally from Puerto Rico, Selys Rivera considers herself a queer, God-loving, and social justice-obsessed chica.  Selys has published articles, poems, and stories in magazines, anthologies, and literary journals, as well as books. Her favorite genres to write in are YA/NA Fiction, Memoir, and Poetry. In her free time, you can find her reading too many books, spending time with loved ones, or playing with her red Dachshund named Ketchup. Follow her on TikTok @SelysRiveraWrites to stay connected. Author photo by Selys Rivera.

Book preview

Praise

"A provocative debut collection of reflective and inspirational poetry that speaks to the soul. Rise in Love  is intentional, emotional, and beautifully saturated with simple complexity. Ms. Rivera pens about You, Them, Life, God, and Me in a fresh, relatable way, resulting in a collection of works that is both genuine and authentic. Ms. Rivera has seamlessly blended love's coming-of-age pain with prose for a unique and personal experience that will stimulate memories and immerse readers."

- Kerry Evelyn, author, Crane's Cove Series*

[I]MAGINATIVE, PERSONAL, and moving...Poetry comes from passion that is to be shared with others. Rivera's poems have heart. They are as visceral as they are thoughtful. A sly humor at times. I might have written 'Grateful Existence' myself, at 22. How many have been in the same place? Now 82, still grateful.

- Diana Morley, author, Spreading Like Water and Splashing

* RECEIVED A COPY FROM the author in the hopes of an honest review.

Epigraphs

Let all that you do be done in love.

– 1 Corinthians 16:14,

World English Bible

"...Love is not love

Which alters when it alteration finds,

Or bends with the remover to remove:

O, no! it is an ever-fixed mark,

That looks on tempests and is never shaken"

– William Shakespeare,

Sonnet 116

Trigger Warning

Whether they play a minor or major role in my collection, I’d like to mention a few trigger warnings before we get started. I understand there’s controversy over the inclusion of trigger warnings, but I think it’s fair for you to understand what you’re getting yourself into when you start reading.

The trigger warnings include: discrimination (i.e. disability, ethnicity, gender, race, and sexual orientation), grief, mental health, religion, self-harm, sexual violence, and suicide. There also may be others related to social justice and spiritual