Things I've Never Said: poems

by Milena Farias

"Things I've Never Said" is a book for anyone who collects unspoken words that intertwine in the throat. For those who silence their feelings and leave them locked under lock and key. For those who donated and received nothing in return. For those who regret not having donated more. For those who see no limits to dreams and, even in fear, would never think of giving up. For those who see no reason to smile today, but believe that tomorrow will be better. "Things I've Never Said" is for all those who prefer to feel, even if it hurts, even if it is hard, because they know that feeling, even in excess, is better than having no feeling at all.

"Maybe she really belongs to the dream world and has been sent to the real one by mistake".

Genres: Poetry

170 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 21, 2021

About the author

Autora dos e-books "Aquilo que eu nunca falei", de poesia, e "Desperta-me", romance, ambos disponíveis na Amazon.

Escritora no perfil @ aquiloqueeununcafalei do Instagram.

Reviews

[Souleye · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hope no one takes this the wrong way since I know this is a Brazilian writer and so English most likely wasn't the authors first language but a lot of the poems had some grammatical errors or was either missing the plural form or incorrectly in the plural form which would often take away from the actual poetry. I would recommend a good polishing of the poems in this book by an editor and also adding some titles to the works since I had a hard time in the beginning of the book knowing where one poem ended and a new one began. All that being said here are three of my favorite poems from the book:

1. My chaos
was beautiful
because it was in the middle of it
that I found myself again

2. I was an open book
but the reading would be complex and
would require concentration
instead of striving
to try to understand
you preferred to pretend to be
illiterate

3. when they told me
about him & her
my dinner came back
at the same time

when I stared
at myself in the mirror
with swollen eyes
and the smudged make up
I promised myself
that I would never allow
someone to do this to me again

never
again

[🌶 peppersocks 🧦 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reflections and lessons learned:
“I was an open book
but the reading would be complex and
would require concentration
instead of striving
to try to understand
you preferred to pretend to be
illiterate”

Things I’ve never said… but certainly feel on a regular basis - heartache, sorrow and woe - the internal monologue or a thinker and ponderer with a 360 degree reflection on the world. Heavily metaphorical with a Kindle typeface that added impact and allowed focussed reading - definitely an author I’d be interested in reading more from

“I am responsible
for every change I want
in my life
I can put myself
anywhere I want and
that's exactly it
that I'm trying to do”

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful poems overall, but sometimes it was hard to follow because there are no titles so I couldn't tell where one poem started/ended. Also, many grammatical errors, which I get as the author most likely doesn't have English as a first language. However, it made it difficult to understand at some parts.

[Donald Grant · Rating 5 out of 5]

From an old soul....

For me, the best poetry is written from the heart of the poet, exposing their soul. Farias does an excellent job at this.
Writing her thoughts on hurt, betrayal, loss, abandonment, love, hope, and loneliness, Farias is not afraid to expose her inner being.
The poems are not titled, which adds to their power. One good example of her work is this poem
"I was an open book
but the reading would be complex and
require concentration
instead of striving
to try to understand
you preferred to be
illiterate"
This is a five star read.

[Sara Hollingsworth · Rating 2 out of 5]

There was some good stuff here, the shame is that it really needed an editor. It's clear the author's first language isn't English and it made it really difficult to make it through this text. With some editing by someone who could fix up the tense issues and correct some of the words, I think this could have been really good. And I do think this author is a good poet. If I could read in her language, I'm sure I'd love her others works.

So, overall, potential yes, but it's in desperate need of an editor.

[nika · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 ⭐️
it’s a little repetitive, needs editing but otherwise v nice, sad and relatable collection

[Brianna Kinley · Rating 1 out of 5]

The grammar throughout really bothered me.

[Stephanie Ziebarth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Milena Farias bravely shares her heart and journey with us through the free verse of Things I've Never Said: poems.

My favorite imagery came from these lines (regarding how she felt as the New Year approached):
I really believed it would be different
that this time that
cliché feeling of new beginnings
of new life
wouldn't just be
a feeling that explodes and lights up
with the fireworks at midnight

Her heart and, in some ways, a synopsis of the book's message come through here:
I want to be seen
with the calmness
and the doses of madness
with the patience
and the moments of the explosion
I want to be seen
as a bomb
and as a bandage
because I am all of this
and a little bit more

You can't help but feel you are getting to know Farias as you take in her work. As I read of her specific anguish, I wanted to point her in these directions (not in order of importance): find a good therapist, join a thriving faith-based community, participate in a supportive writer's group. (Of course, she could be doing all of these things and they are just not reflected in her verse, but those are the encouragements I would relay.)

I know she will not give up her journey, because that was communicated quite clearly through her poems. :) I am rooting for you, Ms. Farias.

[Cassie Parker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Firstly, I want to say that I really enjoyed the sentiments in this. The meaning was clear, and the feeling was there. There were some that I quite enjoyed. This is why I bumped it up to three stars instead of keeping it at two.

The reason I had it for two stars was because this book could use some editing to come around to its full potential.

I don't know it the author wrote this in English, if it was translated in a weird way, or what but the Grammer was off. Tenses changed and words were turned around. It made a little difficult to get immersed into the poetry.

This for sure needed page numbers and a way to make the poems distinct from one another. It was hard to tell one poem from another sometimes.

I also felt like there were parts that were very repetitive of one another, but that's pretty normal in a lot of poetry and books.

Lastly...The sectioning was a bit weird? I felt like the section titles didn't add anything. BUT that is for sure a personal thing.

Anyway --

I really did think this was a decent collection that could be so much better with a round or two more of editing.

[Shas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book has a lot of good qualities that need a little editing to bring forth. While in some areas, I found it hard to focus on the poems because there was no indication where one began and another ended, the poems were great. There wasn't much structural organization, no titles, and some of the poems could use a little more editing than others. Some of the details of the stylistic design behind the poems surprised me. Despite all this, the poems included shared a bittersweet story of a girl growing up and the hardship endured. There were poems that flowed nicely and were written beautifully. With a little editing and organization, I think this book could easily become a renowned poetry story for 2022.

Overall, I enjoyed it and I think it has a lot of potentials.

[Katie Overmyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Bittersweet, that’s what life is. So I want to enjoy the moments that are uniquely sweet as much as I can” -Milena Farias

After receiving two recommendations on here that I should read this collection of poems, I figured I’d go for it. But, I feel like this was kind of a let down for me. Usually with these types of books I’ll find a line or quote really relatable as soon as I start reading, but not with this one. I didn’t find something that stuck out to me until the middle of the book. However, there were some lines I really enjoyed like the one above and don’t think this was a bad collection of poems at all, I just think I was trying to compare it to Rupi Kaur’s work and it just wasn’t as good as hers for me.

[Isabella · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is good reason this took me half a year to read. This poetry collection touches on some important themes like death, coming of age, and heartbreak. However, the collection is incredibly difficult to move through-- a lack of titles for the poems (or even any indication that you're onto the next one!) often had me wondering if I was reading the second page of a piece or a totally new poem altogether. I say this with a touch of admiration, knowing that Farias usually chooses to post on her socials in Portuguese, suggesting English is her second language: this collection is desperate for an eagle-eyed editor. Missing or extra words, incorrect tenses, etc were scattered throughout, distracting the reader and taking away from the poet's work.

[Gary Allen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Intense poetry of self-examination

In 140 pages of free verse, the poet examines her personality (or persona) and how it was damaged at an early age by the sudden death of her beloved grandfather, followed by other crises that render her life dark and fearful. The various poems look at the triggers she has experienced: a distant father, betrayal by boyfriends, fear of the outer world. As if she were encouraged by a therapist to say the things she was always afraid to articulate, poem after poem she works to come to a knowledge of what she needs to restore her soul.

[Sjervey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young woman, very young, finds her beautiful voice - so powerful

This young poet has found her self, her worth, her medium, her voice, in spite of childhood losses that left her with deep fears of loss and serious doubts about her worth. She unveils this history with remarkably visceral verse that leaves doubt about her capacity Togo on, but go on she does with a breathtaking resilience. Young poets like this are a breath of fresh air in a conflicted world.

[Lily Blue · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've had this on my amazon wishlist for a while and then the author asked me to check it out. ( I do love recommendations.)

I give honest reviews.

this book can be read two ways. 1. you can completely read it. 2. you can slow read it and take away from each poem.

I felt like this book was taken directly from my head at times. I will most def will read again.

[Mandi Hidalgo · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book. I liked the idea of this book. Much of the poetry read like it was generated by artificial intelligence, in my opinion. The subject matter was relatable, but the wording didn't hit home for me.

[Nanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was...okay, ig :/

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Things I've Never Said: poems by Milena Farias – This is on kindle unlimited, and I found it free on Amazon. It has a confessional poetry vibe that I like! Happy Reading!

[molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

i’m a whore for poetry books

[Lizzy Seitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 out of 5 stars

Beautiful sections that punched me in my soul… in the best way possible

[KT · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some parts that really resonated with me, but others didn't.
I found some grammatical errors that made some poems difficult to read.
Some parts were good though. Still worth the read.

[Kasia Klimczak · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I finished the book! It was amazing. 🥰👍