In short, this slender set of poems moved and stilled me. I love poetry that just makes me slow down, that teaches me things without preaching. I was first drawn to the 33-year-old Akbar's book by 1) the cover design and 2) the raves from Mary Karr and Hanif Abdurraqib, two writers I trust and relish.

The final piece, the book's longest and most breathtaking, is called "The Palace." I won't share the last few lines of it, as it's beautiful and stirring and candid and messy in a way that should be experienced directly and personally. Below are just some of its parts that moved me, and do read this Tehran-born writer's collection. It captivated and transported me. I'm already tracking down his other books as you read this.

"There is no elegant way
to say this—people
with living hearts
that could fit in my chest
want to melt the city where I was born."

"The first insect drawn by man was a locust.
Art is where what we survive survives."

"Mistyping in an email I write,
I lose you so much today,
then leave it."