You Better Be Lightning

by Andrea Gibson

You Better Be Lightning by Andrea Gibson is a queer, political, and feminist collection guided by self-reflection. The poems range from close examination of the deeply personal to the vastness of the world, exploring the expansiveness of the human experience from love to illness, from space to climate change, and so much more in between. One of the most celebrated poets and performers of the last two decades, Andrea Gibson's trademark honesty and vulnerability are on full display in You Better Be Lightning, welcoming and inviting readers to be just as they are.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Queer, Nonfiction, Mental Health, Feminism, Adult

115 pages, Paperback

First published November 9, 2021

About the author

Andrea Faye Gibson was an American poet and activist. Their poetry focused on gender norms, politics, social justice, LGBTQ topics, life, and mortality. Gibson was appointed as the Poet Laureate of Colorado in 2023.

Reviews

[s.penkevich [mental health hiatus] · Rating 5 out of 5]

In memory of Andrea Gibson 1975 - 2025

Every loss is tragic but this one hurt more than most. In the words of Andrea Gibson—queer icon, Poet Laureate of Colorado, World Champion Slam poet, member of Vox Feminista, an outspoken activist against sexual violence against women, and an amazing writer—’Whenever I leave this world, whether it’s sixty years from now, I wouldn’t want anyone to say I lost some battle. I’ll be a winner that day.’ Today, July 14th, 2025, Gibson is a winner. Typing this, as was their wishes, felt hopeful, which is very in-keeping with the general vibes of You Better Be Lightning, Gibson’s seventh publication and final volume of poetry from 2021. This is a collection that confronts darkness head-on, dives deep within to a depth where is seems all light has vanished, yet lights a bright torch of hope and comfort within. Those familiar with Gibson’s work will recognize their unique, signature voice and themes with extra emphasis on the joys in life and the hardships that we share which only serves to help us grow. ‘In the end I want my heart to be covered in stretchmarks,’ Gibson wrote. While sadly the poet has passed at the age of 49, having been diagnosed with cancer in 2021, we can be assured they left this world with stretchmarks on their heart and the poignant prose that spans each page of You Better Be Lightning is surely a testament to this.

Instead of Depression

try calling it hibernation.
Imagine the darkness is a cave
in which you will be nurtured
by doing absolutely nothing.
Hibernating animals don’t even dream.
It’s okay if you can’t imagine
spring. SLeep through the alarm
of the world. Name your hopelessness
a quiet hollow, a place you go
to heal, a den you dug,
Sweetheart, instead
of a grave.

There is an incredible cadence to every poem in this volume, filled with more quotable lines than most pens have enough ink to underline, and their verses stick in your heart and mind like a radio-friendly earworm tune that you love to hear on repeat. Having been a World Champion slam poet, winning in 2008 (you should definitely listen to Gibson reading their poem Orlando, a poem about the Pulse nightclub murders, with musical accompaniment by Mary Lambert), Gibson’s words come pouring out in glorious rhythms that cut straight to your heart. Across a wide variety of topics as well, with feminism and social justice issues often at the center of them. Here we can find poems on just about anything, across discussions on climate crisis, their girlfriend’s karaoke songs, the day Prince died, gender fluidity, neighbors, working the night shifts, or even constellations forming protest signs. Despite the variety, love is always present and deeply felt. As Gibson writes in the last stanza of The Last Hours, which is also the final poem of the collection:

‘I’ve written so many poems in my life. And every single one of them was just trying to find a better way to say what one soul said to another soul with one word. Isn’t it amazing that I came up so short? Isn’t it everything that I tried so hard and failed to write a single thing more beautiful that
love’

While this collection came on the cusp of their cancer diagnosis, there is so much joy to be found here alongside verses of fierce determination and Gibson’s heart reaching out to those in need. During an interview with Rough Cut Press, Gibson was asked what brings them joy and responded that their diagnosis actually allowed them to accept death and truly start living in joy:

‘I think most folks who follow my work these days know I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer this summer, and have spent the last months doing chemotherapy. I would have previously never imagined I could find so much joy throughout a time like this, but I’ve been flooded with it– simply because I spend so much less time thinking about the past or the future. What is right in front of me at any given second is what I naturally pay attention to most these days, and I’ve found there is so much sweetness in a moment truly lived. Prior to my diagnosis, I was pretty consistently somewhere else: worrying about the future, or aching about the past. I’d spent over a decade trying and failing to break that pattern, and then suddenly there was no other option but to be, just be. And in that being I have come to treasure being alive in a very new way. So much is precious to me that wasn’t before.’

Which is all rather empowering but there is not a page of You Better Be Lighting that doesn’t feel empowering so it’s all so very much Gibson and I love it. I hope you will too.

‘every falling leaf is a tiny kite
With a string too small to see, held
By the part of me in charge
Of making beauty
Out of grief’
—from How the Worst Day of My Life Became the Best

Making beauty out of grief is a perfect explanation of Gibson’s poetry. There is a near-element of self-help ideology reverberating through much of this collection in a way that feels practical and avoids toxic positivity or pandering. Lines such as ‘let your / heart break // so your spirit / doesn’t’ embody the hard truth that surviving isn’t easy and often painful, but you can make it through. But Gibson also reminds us to take care of ourselves, protect our joys, let our hearts be loved and not squandered, and to be mindful of our actions and thoughts such as in the aptly titled poem Wellness Check:

In any moment
On any given day,
I can measure
My wellness
By this question:

Is my attention on loving,
Or is my attention on
          who isn’t loving me?

One of the biggest stand-outs for me in You Better Be Lightning is one of the longer poems (Gibson has an exceptional dexterity with poem length, equally excelling in multi-page epics as well as poems that don’t even stretch half the length of the page), Queer Youth are Five TImes More Likely to Die by Suicide. The title becomes a sort of mantra even without needing to be repeated, drilling the sad statistic home and reminding readers what this means. As a queer person myself, this poem hits HARD:

‘Queer Youth are Five TImes More Likely to Die by Suicide

means:
You lived fince times harder than you should have had to
To still have a body when you graduated high school.

Means:
Hate worked five times harder
To make your spirit its wishbone

Means:
When your mother asked what was wrong,
You were five times more likely to believe you’d lose
Her if you spoke the truth.

Means:
You were told five times more often
You’d go to hell when you died.

Means:
Burning for eternity seemed five times
More doable than another day in the school lunchroom.’

The poem eventually shifts into the speaker’s action in defense of fellow queer folks or actions against their abusers, writing about how their poems on each ‘page is a protest sign’ or ‘a bandana washing / the tear gas out of my lover’s eyes’ before shifting again to moments of solidarity in the face of oppression and bigotry:

Queer youth are five times more likely to:

See you how you dream of seeing yourself.
To write something in your yearbook that will get you
Through the next decade. To spot a stranger crying
And ask if there’s anything they can do to help.

This is a slim collection with a massive heart and soul and every time I return to Andrea Gibson’s poetry I am overcome with emotion. Their heart is on display upon every page and we are all better for it as each beat of the heart, each stanza, each blessed line, is pure love.

What Can’t Be Taken

Trauma was not being
Able to get the hands
Of the clock off me.

Healing was learning
No one has ever laid a fingerprint
On the part of me that’s infinite.

With a heavy heart we must all say farewell to Andrea Gibson, but their words remain and shall inspire and empower readers for long to come. Like a star that can still be seen twinkling at night years after it has burned out. You Better Be Lightning is a marvelous collection that really touched my heart and I hope you enjoy too. I can’t think of any better way to end than with Gibson’s own words on the afterlife, taken from the poem The Year of No Grudges, Or Instead of Writing a Furious Text, I Try a Poem. Give Andrea Gibson a read, you won’t regret it!

‘when I say god—I mean everyone
Down here who understands why
When I get to heaven,

I will refuse to call it heaven
If the people I love
(who put me through hell)

Aren’t there

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really gorgeous poetry collection! One of my favorites included this line that I can’t stop thinking about:

”No matter how it looks,
you and everyone you know
have hourglass figures.
Each breath, a falling
grain of sand.
To truly live is to see
right through the skin
to the avalanche.

If we never deny
the inevitable end
of the story,
we will write it
more beautiful
while we’re alive.”

A few poems brought tears to my eyes, like Instead of Depression, Time Piece, Queer Youth are five times more likely to die by suicide, and Homesick: a Plea for our Planet. 😭🙌

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

What if we don't have to be healed
to be whole? There are holes in every inch
of the fabric that makes me who I am,

but pull the string on my back
and I'll say I LOVE YOU and mean it
whenever you want.

(from "every time i ever said i want to die")

▴▴▴

my reviews of poetry collections often harp on the fact that i struggle to find poetry that i fully get. and now i'm so happy to be able to say that i've found a poet whose work hits me just right and resonates fully. i guess i just needed a quirky queer poet with a huge heart 🖤

gibson writes about trauma, identity, vulnerability, environmental destruction, heartbreak, and above all else, love. so much love.

"queer youth are five times more likely to die by suicide" is a painful and hopeful standout poem. gibson is a vitally important lgbt+ voice. "the museum of broken relationships" made me fucking cry. and "note to the stranger six feet away" is an achingly cathartic pandemic poem. and "homesick: a plea for our planet" is something that i wish everyone would read and take to heart.

"wellness check" is such a good reminder that it actually resulted in me going no contact with someone who had been taking too much of my energy:

In any moment,
on any given day,
I can measure
my wellness
by this question:

Is my attention on loving,
or is my attention on
who isn't loving me?

🖤🖤🖤

it's hard to even talk about my favorite poems of gibson's, since the majority of them make me feel something deep in my heart. for now i'll just say that this book is wholeheartedly recommended, in all its beautiful raw tenderness.

because where I come from
beauty is in the eye of anyone who sees
what's missing but can't stop pointing

to what's still there.
If there's no definition for love yet -
I think that's a good one.

(from "the year of no grudges, or instead of writing a furious text, i try a poem")

Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for providing me with a copy of this book in return for an honest review. All quotes are from the ARC and are subject to change upon publication.

[Gerhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry is fascinating. Of all the forms of writing, it seems the most inward-looking and narcissistic. Yet when done right, it can also achieve a universality that speaks to the lived experience of many different people. You don’t have to know anything about the poet in question, but so often their pain, grace, love, mistakes, tenderness, humour, and thoughts and musings on the vicissitudes of life that buffet us all not only transcends the poet’s own existence, it gains a life all of its own.

I was devastated when I read the following in an interview with Westword dated 9 November 2021, in which Riley Cowling writes how Gibson (they, them) “was standing at the end of the driveway this past July when the doctor called with the news: A CT scan had revealed a number of masses on Gibson’s ovaries. Although an official diagnosis couldn’t occur until after surgery, Gibson knew it was cancer.”

Gibson comments: “I’d just handed in the final draft for a book in which I had vetted each and every line with this question: ‘Would I be okay saying this if it were my last words?’” That is a heavy burden to place on any book. Suffice it to say, ‘You Better Be Lightning’ shines with a fierce light that is as illuminating as it is powerful.

Normally in a poetry collection I highlight one or two poems that really stood out for me, and scan over many others that just don’t talk to me. With Gibson’s latest, I started bookmarking my favourites from the very first poem, ‘Acceptance Speech After Setting The World Record In Goosebumps’:

Of course beauty hunted me.
It hunts everyone. But I outran it, hid
in worry, regret, the promise of an afterlife
or a week’s end.

I can’t even begin to imagine the impact that Gibson’s diagnosis must have had on them. They are a spoken word poet, Cowling notes, intending for each poem to be performed to be truly realised. He explains further:

But after the initial diagnosis and starting chemotherapy, they were worried that the poems from ‘You Better Be Lightning’ wouldn’t have that chance. This past summer, the book's publisher, Button Poetry, sent a cinematographer to Colorado, who set up a recording studio in an Airbnb near Gibson’s home in Boulder and extended an open invitation for Gibson to record over the course of three days. Initially, Gibson was uncertain if they’d be able to record just two or three poems. But ultimately, they recorded 55.

The poems in this collection range from a couple of lines to several pages. There are also long-verse poems that read more like flash fiction; my favourites here fragment into poetry towards the end, as if this is their natural state. You don’t have to know any of the above to appreciate this collection. You just have to read the poems and let Gibson’s essence infuse your own spirit.

I only call death when I forget how to speak
eternity’s language, forget that to run
out of time is to run into the truth
that none of us have ever been
our bodies. If we were – how
would we fit in each other’s hearts?

[Henk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full of engagement, but sometimes veering a bit too close to prose for my personal taste. The reflections on queer life, chronic illness and above all love are well executed, but in a sense made me also feel a bit claustrophobic while reading the bundle
Silence rides shotgun
wherever hate goes
- No such thing as the innocent bystander

In You Better Be Lightning Andrea Gibson draws deeply from personal experiences, ranging from dealing with dialysis and lyme to working in crisis wards for evicted queer youth to discrimination and love not turning out as one would hope. Queer youth are five times more likely to die by suicide is a breathtakingly sad poem that shows the societal engagement of the poet.

The bundle is definitely powerful in what it tries to convey and sometimes poems are 4 to 5 pages which essentially tell a story of the history of the author. This feels very candid and raw, and at times the themes felt almost oppressive to me, since not much seems to be going well at all. Still an old saying is that there is no shine with out friction, and this book manages to communicate just that with some very well found similes, excelling more in short length at times than in longer narrative stretches.
3.5 stars rounded up.

Quotes:
My grandfather was a clock
who stopped before I met him.
- Time piece

Sometimes grief is the fastest route to truth.
…
What if we don’t have to be healed to be whole?
- Every time I ever said I want to die

But you’re done making vacations of people.
- Climate change

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is not just a poetry collection.

It's a form of personal reflection and rediscovering our self.


The collection touches a variety of topics and themes.

The writing is wholesome. It's calming as well as poignant.

Do not read this collection at a go.

Take your time. Choose a page and read it. It will make you feel like you are looking at your own reflection.

Thank you, publisher and the author, for the advance reader copy.

[Pia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It wasn't until I read 'Queer Youth are Five Times More Likely to Die By Suicide' with tears in my eyes (I was a queer youth, after all) followed by 'No Such Thing as the Innocent Bystander' that I realised this poetry wasn't just magical, it was also extremely powerful. Before I hit these poems in particular, I wondered if Gibson was prone to letting their poems sometimes disintegrate towards the end in a way that made me wish they were tightened up a little more, and it took me a few poems to realise this is intentional, and they start off coherent and then spill into raw emotion in a way that's like a gift. (Some are extremely tight as well, don't get me wrong, this isn't an 'every poem' thing, just a 'some of them' thing).

So grateful to Button Books for the review copy, because this is a new author to me, in Western Australia, and I've needed poetry like this. I think any queer person, any nonbinary person, any gender-diverse person would, but so would any person who cares about justice, and time, and love, and heartbreak, and chronic illness. There's a lot of stand out moments here, a lot of them, from the declaration in that intent title, to the dreamlike cover, to the poems which start out as a story and end up bleeding the truth in sentence fragments and emotional raw wounds laced with so much hope.

I'm the kind of reader that automatically starts unconsciously assigning stars when I first start reading. I hovered on four stars, and then shot right past five and am now annoyed I can't actually force Goodreads to assign more, lol. Love this treasure trove, and will be rereading it going into the future.

[destiny ♡ howling libraries · Rating 4 out of 5]

We need so much less than we take.
We owe so much more than we give.

4 stars because 50% of this collection was a 3-star read for me (a bit boring and meandering, truthfully), but the other 50% was brilliant and absolutely worthy of 5 stars.

You Better Be Lightning is the first collection I've actually sat down and read of Gibson's, despite being a fan of videos of their poetry readings for many, many years. I love how queer this collection is (especially an entire poem dedicated to queer youths and how downright magical they are), and I love how brave it is.

This isn't always an easy collection to read, and if you're someone who has any need whatsoever for content warnings, I strongly suggest giving them a glance ahead of time (I'll put them below in spoiler tags). While half of these poems didn't work well for me, like I said, the other half hit me as hard as they could and I'm still reeling from how raw some of them were.

✨ Content warnings for: self-harm, suicidal ideation, homophobia, grief, sexual assault, pedophilia, mental illness, COVID pandemic mentions, climate change, religious trauma

———
twitter | booktok | bookstagram | blog

[Marne - Reader By the Water · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't care for poetry. But the cover caught my eye, and I've been looking for more trans/non-binary authors, so I read their bio. They grew up in my tiny home state and we share a birthday. Goosebumps.

Turns out, I love poetry if it's this. This was heartfelt, raw, and lyrically beautiful Poignant and unique, yet so identifiable. I want to buy the book and give it to friends. Absolutely lovely.

"We both showed up to kindness tryouts with notes from the school nurse that said we were too hurt to participate."

Thanks, Netgalley and Button Poetry for the advance copy for an honest review. Pub Date: 9 Nov 2021

[Emma Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea Gibson is my favorite modern poet. Their words are therapeutic and heart-opening.

That every falling leaf is a tiny kite
with a string too small to see, held
by the part of me in charge
of making beauty
out of grief.

[Anniek · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I know: this is exactly the kind of poetry I love, and I should read more of it.

What I don't know: how to accurately review poetry collections.

All I can really say about this is: this collection really spoke to me, made me pause, made me cry, made me reflect, taught me things.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is so much heart in this book that I swear I could feel it pulse in my hands. This is Andrea's best work yet.

[Stephanie ~~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea Gibson's writing sparkles like a sapphire in the sun. Their written poetry and personal presence in oral performance dazzles and dances. Lightening indeed.

"Then one day, in a red velvet theater
in New Orleans, I watched Maya Angelou
walk on stage. Seventeen slow steps to the mic.
She took a breath before speaking,

and I could hear god being born in that breath.
My every pore reached out like a hand
pointing to the first unthinkable lotus at the bayou
of the universe. I'd never felt anything like it."
-Andrea Gibson

(from the poem "Acceptance Speech After Setting the World Record in Goosebumps")

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

[Ocean]

Another incredible collection of poems from the incomparable Andrea Gibson. I have been looking forward to this book for a while and it did not disappoint. Gibson has such a way with words and there is so much power in this poetry. Some of the poems meant more to me than others, but they all had their place in this book, and I appreciate Gibson's writing more than I can explain.

[Bek (MoonyReadsByStarlight) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea Gibson has put out another heartbreaking, heartmending collection. While this collection hits on many topics, with each peice, this digs deep into love -- not just romance, but the love you put out to the world, love of people, family, friends, learning to love yourself, love in the face of some of the hardest things. This is another brilliant poetry collection that I know I will continue to revisit.

CW mentions of: suicide, sexual assault, self-harm

[Shannon Service · Rating 5 out of 5]

Andrea Gibson is a fury of fireflies in a jar on the darkest night. Being human is hard and confusing and miraculous. Andrea teaches us how to hold these things with humor, grace and a lot of love.

Read. This. Book.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Thank you to NetGalley and Button Poetry for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review*

I have been reading Andrea Gibson's poetry for almost ten years, and I know that because when I was a newly out transgender teen in high school, Gibson's collections were the only books on my shelves by a trans/gnc author at the time. I found comfort and belonging in their words both on the page and in their spoken words in their slam poetry on YouTube, and continue to follow their work to this day. I say all of this mainly to preface that I do not say it lightly when I say that I believe that this may be Gibson's best poetry collection yet.

The poems in this collection span multiple topics, from Gibson's experience with both chronic and mental illness, suicide rates in queer youth, explorations/discussion of gender identity, queerness, break-ups, suicidality, grief in the time of coronavirus, and more. Gibson discusses these topics with their usual attention to detail, with some pages-long poems flowing effortlessly, easily devoured, as well as short, gut wrenching poems with words that will stay with you long after they're read.

This book was like a warm hug & a therapy session after this long year and a half. Gibson's trademark optimism mixed with their deadpan humor and unflinching honesty makes for a memorable collection that I will highlight, annotate, and return to over and over.

[tee · Rating 4 out of 5]

magical?! blindingly profound “queer, political, and feminist” poetry i am so happy i decided to read even though the cover put me off because i loved loved this! i am certain that this could even be life-saving for someone out there and i hope so much that they come across this. almost feel bad for rating this (but i will for my personal record) because of just how sincere this book is, and how wonderful that i want to re-read this already. even if it got too cheesy (eeeek) for me sometimes, it retained its authenticity which is what matters. subscribed to their newsletter, followed them on instagram and cannot wait to read more of their work! i love to love.

“i know there is medicine in knowing / how much we don’t know. i know / there are answers in being awestruck.”

[Shirin A. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I promise my heart’s grown a size or two after reading this collection.

Thank you Andrea Gibson for the love and the wisdom.

[Susan Atherly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I completely loved this collection of poems, essays, and short stories. Even with themes traversing a wide range of emotions from love, friendship, anger, sadness, joy, and fear (just a sampling) Andrea Gibson keeps a cohesiveness and beauty throughout. Definitely worth the read.

Representation:
LGBT+
Feminism

Trigger Warnings:
Grief
Bullying
Self harm
Severe illness.

[Sara the Book Slayer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Favorite poems from this collection:

Time Piece
No Such Thing as an Innocent Bystander
Every Time I Ever Said I Want to Die
Instead of Depression
What Love Is
Night Shift
Good Grief
Wellness Check
The Last Hours

This was my first time reading Andrea Gibson and I now already have some of their other books on hold at the library. I can't wait to read more.


*I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

[Cassandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just another poetry book to add to my shelf! And what a wonderful one to add.

I enjoyed this a lot. Andrea Gibson gives another honest book to their collection and as much as I could finish a poetry book in one sitting, I'm glad I get to absorb it day by day/whenever I feel I need it most.

This cover was stunning alone but I'm glad the poetry matched the cover too.

[Gabby · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best poetry I’ve ever read

[Tash Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I’m really glad that I read this collection because it felt really personal and I always love when I can get a true sense of a person through their poetry. I enjoyed the topics discussed and found each poems flowed really well into the next. I could also really tell that Andrea is a seasoned poet with lots of experience and this collection really stood out to me in a market oversaturated with novice poets, so in that sense, this was a breath of fresh air.

Personally, I am more inclined towards shorter poems but that’s very much a me thing and despite that, I still enjoyed many of the poems in this collection. The use of language felt professional and I could tell a lot of time went into perfecting the flow and feeling of each poem.

I suppose my biggest gripe is that I wish I could have listened to these poems rather than read them. Andrea is also well versed (if you’ll pardon the pun) in spoken word and I felt like many of the poems in this collection would have been far more impactful and gripping spoken, and I did find my attention slipping every now and then. While I probably wouldn’t read again mostly due to the length of the poems, I believe this is a beautiful poetry collection with a unique voice behind it that I think everyone could benefit from.

[Astro · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably the best poetry collection I read all year

[Nerdette Podcast · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS IS AN OUTSTANDING COLLECTION!!!!!

[Annie Rose]

I will probably read this through 2-3 more times and then get every other book Gibson’s written

[Callum McLaughlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been meaning to try Gibson’s work for ages. Having been lucky enough to get hold of their newest collection, I am now all the more determined to explore their back catalogue at length.

The poems found here are very candid, focussing primarily on the themes of gender identity, queerness, love, loss, and healing. Gibson’s style is heavily narrative driven, informed by their own experiences and often delivering sucker-punch lines that are all the more poignant for the simplicity of their expression.

Though they never shy away from the pain and sadness life can throw at you (there is also excellent commentary on life with chronic pain, for example), there is such inherent warmth and kindness to Gibson’s voice; the wonderful flow and deceptive accessibility a welcome hand to guide us through the darkness.

There were several stand-out pieces (“See This Through”, “The Last Hours”, “Homesick”, and “Queer Youth Are Five Times More Likely to Die by Suicide” will stick with me) but there’s not a single dud throughout the entire collection – generous as it is in length.

Sharp, observant, and achingly tender, I am now very much a fan.

Thank you to the publisher for a free advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

[Menestrella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inspirational. Mesmerizing. A macro lens into someone’s heart and mind

I fell in love with poetry when I was a teenager. Maybe it was the sadness inside of me that simultaneously pushed me to listen to grunge and to read all the pre-romantic and romantic English, French and Italian poets’ works. But you see, it was a period I needed confirmation about the malaise I was carrying inside myself. The secret that haunted me till I spilled it when I came out at the age of 30.

Poetry is like reading into the mind of someone else and finding that we are not so different from each other. My struggles have been also your struggles. Some of my life experiences have been also yours.

In poetry, words take a life of their own and pierce you with the strength of a car running at 100 miles per hour. They hit you hard. Because they can be so raw. So true. So intime.

You Better Be Lightning is not a mere collection of poems. It is a retelling of a life with joys, sadness, traumas, discrimination, political ideologies, battles to make this planet better for the generations to come.

Andrea Gibson is a magician with words, with analogies, with metaphors. Some of the poems are like small novels. Some have the power of striking you with their minimalism like haiku poetry. Others are cryptic and leave you to guess their secret meaning.

Youth. Queerness. Freedom of speech. The importance of the queer community as a family. The pros and cons of being sick in realizing what matters the most in life. The struggle of queer youth coming out and finding a road to follow. Reflections on how past, present, and future shape one’s life… what if?

When you read poetry and you know that it is autobiographical, you just can’t not listen with all ears, eyes being your ears. You need to listen. You want to listen to all of this, to find yourself in those words. To love a stranger who you will never know, and you kindly decided to open their heart to you.

This book makes you proud. This book is to be read out loud to feel its strength and with silences to appreciate its lyricism.

Political. Romantic. Angry. Green. Passionate. Sad. Empathetic. Dark. Unconventional. Queer forever.

A journey into the depths of the mind.

It felt so real. Magical and real. So much love.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of poetry was so good that I feel insecure—unable—to relate in my own words just how good it was. But let's try anyway.

I opened the first page of You Better Be Lightning and I was tearing up within two minutes. It takes the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy over eight hours of run time to have that same effect on me, and I've watched those movies with every commentary track—and all the special features—multiple times.

I got about halfway through the book and felt like I had made a new friend and was eager to learn everything about them: What? You believe in aliens, too?! I haven't made a new In-Real-Life friend in years.

By the end of the book, I wanted to watch Andrea Gibson perform every poem they've ever written, even though crowds of people are just the worst; I wanted to recite every poem to everybody I knew, despite knowing sharing something so intimate is a top three fear; I wanted to memorize every word to remember how the first time reading it felt, when the only other time I memorized a poem was because I had to for a class.

Hope this helps.